Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the UN nuclear agency, speaks during an interview with Reuters at his villa. ElBaradei, who is a possible Egyptian presidential contender, said on Saturday democratic change depended heavily on young people.

CAIRO: Former IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei, who says he is prepared to run in elections against President Hosni Mubarak, told AFP on Saturday that political change is the only way to avoid unrest in Egypt.

“Change is coming for sure,” ElBaradei said in a telephone interview. “Change by peaceful means is the only way to avoid any clashes,” he said.

ElBaradei announced he was ready to run for president next year before arriving home last week to a rapturous welcome from hundreds of supporters following a 12-year stint at the helm of the International Atomic Energy Agency based in Vienna.

“I am working to mobilise the popular masses who are pro-change in order to convert the system in Egypt into a democratic system that ensures social justice,” ElBaradei said.

“The first step in this journey is to amend the constitution to guarantee free and fair elections and then have a new constitution for the country,” he added.

The constitution as it stands bars ElBaradei from running for president in elections scheduled for next year.

Under Egyptian law, candidates are required to have been a leading member of a party for at least one year and for the party to have existed for at least five years.

As an independent, he would need the backing of at least 250 elected officials from parliament’s upper and lower houses and from municipal councils — all bodies dominated by Mubarak’s National Democratic Party.

ElBaradei has repeatedly called for democratic change since stepping down from the UN nuclear watchdog.