Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in remarks published on Wednesday there was no need to appoint a vice president, suggesting he will leave open the post from which both he and his predecessor became leader.

Mubarak, 78 and president since 1981, has not said who might succeed him. Analysts, diplomats and opposition politicians think Mubarak has positioned his son Gamal, 42, for the job by promoting him to a senior post in the ruling party.

Gamal has said he has neither the intention or desire to be president -- a position with vast powers in Egypt.

Mubarak said in an interview with Massai newspaper it was not obligatory to appoint a vice-president, the post he held under President Anwar Sadat.

"Our experience since the establishment of the republican system does not call to maintain it," Mubarak said.

"If anyone says that I was deputy to President Sadat, well that happened before we moved on the path of democracy," he added. "Frankly, I fear that this post would lead to conflicts and mudslinging which obstruct national work."

Mubarak secured his fifth six-year term as president last year in Egypt's first multi-candidate presidential election.

The government billed the election as the centrepiece of democratic reform but the opposition called it a referendum in disguise because of tough conditions on who could stand.

None of Egypt's opposition groups currently hold enough seats in parliament and local councils to field a candidate in a presidential election, effectively securing the post for the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).

Analysts say Gamal would be the NDP's obvious choice for presidential candidate. He is one of the most influential figures in the party and his public profile has become increasingly prominent this year.