Thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday ahead of a planned rally against the ruling military and presidential candidates who served under ousted leader Hosni Mubarak.

Thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday ahead of a planned rally against the ruling military and presidential candidates who served under ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

Liberal groups called for the rally before the committee overseeing the election in May last week barred Mubarak's vice president and spy chief Omar Suleiman from standing, along with two leading Islamic candidates.

The Muslim Brotherhood also said it would throw its weight behind Friday's rally, after its candidate Khairet El-Shater was disqualified.

Supporters of Hazem Abu Ismail, who was barred because his mother carried joint US-Egyptian citizenship in violation of the electoral law, also trickled into the square.

Ahmed Shafiq, a former air force chief who served as Mubarak's prime minister, is still in the race, along with Amr Mussa, a former foreign minister under Mubarak and Arab League chief.