Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s promise for fair elections will not suffice, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry ’66 wrote in a New York Times op-ed published online Monday.

For the past week, tens of thousands of Egyptians have protested the 30-year reign of Mubarak, and Kerry said Mubarak should declare that neither he nor his son will run in the next presidential election. Mubarak needs to facilitate a peaceful shift to new leadership, he said, since his people will not back down until they see a greater democracy.

“The best way to avoid unrest turning into upheaval is for President Mubarak to take himself and his family out of the equation,” Kerry said.

Kerry added that the United States must help to create jobs in Egypt in addition to providing military support.

Kerry was a member of Jonathan Edwards College and is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.