Egypt election to begin April 28: adviser

47 minutes ago
By Marwa Awad and Yasmine Saleh | Reuters

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi will call a parliamentary election starting April 28, a presidential legal adviser told Reuters on Thursday, saying the vote would be held in four stages.

Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood backers hope the election will mark an end to a turbulent political transition punctuated by spasms of violence that have thwarted his efforts to revive an economy in deep crisis.

But the vote will take place in a country more divided than ever between Islamist parties that have come out on top in all the elections held since Hosni Mubarak was ousted in 2011 and a more secular-minded opposition that has struggled to organize.

Earlier in the day the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament, adopted an electoral law as amended by the Constitutional Court, clearing the way for Mursi to set a date for the lower house election.

"Parliamentary elections for 2013 will begin on April 28, over four stages," Mohamed Gadallah, a legal adviser to Mursi, told Reuters. A presidential source had earlier told Reuters Mursi would call the election starting in April.

The vote would be held in phases in different regions because of a shortage of poll supervisors. The last lower house election, which was won by Islamists, lasted from late November 2011 until January the following year.

Mursi had been expected to ratify the electoral law by February 25. The lower house was dissolved last year after the court ruled the original law used to elect it was unfair.

The new chamber is likely to have to decide on tough economic measures that the International Monetary Fund is demanding in return for a $4.8 billion loan which Egypt needs to tackle an economic crisis.

On Monday the Constitutional Court demanded changes to five articles of the revised electoral law. The Shura Council accepted this ruling and adopted the legislation without a vote on Thursday.

"The decision of the Constitutional Court is binding and we have no right to vote on it. It must be carried out," said Ahmed Fahmy, the Council's speaker.

The new law bars members of parliament from changing their political affiliation once elected. Under ousted president Hosni Mubarak, independents were often cajoled into joining the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), which monopolized parliament and political life before the 2011 revolution.

The law also stipulates that one third of the lower house should be designated for independents and bans former members of the now defunct NDP from participating in politics for at least 10 years.

(Editing by David Stamp, Tom Perry and Michael Roddy)

Military vs Morsi: Power clash over parliament

08 July, 2012
Source:rt.com

Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi has ordered the country's parliament to return almost a month after a Supreme Court ruling dismissed it. The military council has called an emergency meeting to discuss the president's move.

­Morsi's surprise decision puts him at odds with the top military officials who enforced parliament's dissolution after the Supreme Court found that a third of the parliament's members were illegally elected.

The court declared that the Political Disenfranchisement Law governing elections was unconstitutional. The law concerns some provisions of electoral law regulating how political parties are able to contest parliamentary seats using independent candidates. The high court determined that the law discriminated against truly independent candidates.

The majority of the seats in the dissolved parliament belong to the Muslim Brotherhood. Until recently, Morsi had also been a member of this Islamist party, but he announced his resignation shortly after winning the presidential election.

The power struggle over parliament showcases the recent political dynamics in Egypt, where the military is trying to cling to power since former president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in January 2011.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has yet to comment on the newly elected president's decree.

Morsi won the presidency in a runoff that took place on June 16-17. However, it took the election commission another week to announce the election's results.

During the week-long vote count, tens of thousands of Morsi supporters took to Tahrir Square in Cairo to support their candidate and to protest prolonged military rule.

Egypt democracy dependent on Morsi political skills

Jun 25, 2012
Source: Press TV

Egypt’s new President Mohamed Morsi has called on all Egyptians to unite and says the revolution, which ousted former dictator Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, will continue.


"I will be a president for all Egyptians," Morsi said just hours after he was declared the winner the Egyptian presidential election, adding that national unity "is the only way out of these difficult times.".

Earlier in the day, after days of delay, the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC) announced Morsi as the winner of the county’s presidential runoff.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Nii Akuetteh, African policy analyst from Washington, to further discuss the issue. The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: International reactions are pouring in, as we’ve just reported. The US has expressed its desire for Morsi to continue with Egypt's past policies within the region. The new president is going to be under a lot of pressure now, isn’t he to do so?

Akuetteh: Yes, but the US statement also said that it wanted him to respect the right of all Egyptians and to govern them democratically. You are absolutely right; there are a whole lot of demands on him.

As I read the election results and the reaction inside Egypt itself, there are different groups. I think that he is going to have a number of things to juggle with, a number of pressures both internally and from the outside.

Press TV: A lot is not clear yet but Morsi has now said that he will continue to honor all previous agreements, and this is probably going to include the Camp David Agreement with Israel. How will this go down with the Egyptian people considering the Camp David agreement has been a source of dissatisfaction on the part of Egyptians and the Palestinian cause is very much close to the hearts of most Egyptians?

Akuetteh: I agree completely with you that that is on the minds of Egyptians. However, because number one, he wouldn’t be governor even with the constitution -- Egypt doesn’t have a constitution. The constitution assembly has been dissolved by the military junta and you don’t have a normal legislature.

Down the road in months to come and years to come when you have a functioning parliament, that is a direct will for the Egyptian people to put pressure on their government directly. Until you have that form of legislature and government, then it will just be what people say in the streets and newspaper and when they march. Then you will have different factions contending.

It’s going to be touch and go for a while until we have an electoral legislature and the military’s powers have been curtailed.

Press TV: We’ll get back to the question of the constitution but there are rulers at the moment that the Muslim Brotherhood is negotiating a power sharing deal with the ruling generals. There is no doubt that the new president will have to negotiate his way with SCAF, but what kind of agreement do you think they'll reach?

Akuetteh: That is hard to tell because I think both of them will keep their eyes on people in the street. I think that the military, the SCAF, would like to keep as much power as possible, but I also think that they understand they don’t have a mandate. Nobody has elected them and over 30 million people, the voters, the majority of Egyptians have just elected Mr. Morsi.

Therefore, I think the military will be careful about wanting to push him around. They like the keep power so in the negotiation I expected them to be keeping an eye on what the people are saying, how much they can get away with.

I will be watching closely to see what kind of deal they come up with. Of course, you know that there are a number of issues that they are fighting over, when Mr. Morsi will be sworn in and then the decrees that just came in allocating certain powers to him. A number of things they will negotiate and fight about and it bears watching.

Press TV: Morsi did make a lot of promises during his campaign and also in his address tonight. As you mentioned, there is no constitution in place and you said this will give very little space to maneuver, but just elaborate for our viewers a bit more about how much will he be able to deliver on some of the most fundamental promises he made during his campaign?

Akuetteh: Every leader in every country, their own political skills are important but especially in the case of Egypt now where, number one, you don’t have a constitution and a former government, and even the court is suspect because it was appointed by former President Mubarak. Then you have the SCAF.

Without those former institutions, I think a lot would depend on Mr. Morsi’s personal political skills. I think he has started well because yes it is true that he made a lot of promises but generally in elections that’s what politicians have to do.

People look at their promises especially in a place like Egypt where we are having real democratic elections really for the first time. What happened under former President Mubarak, nobody really took them seriously as elections.

The populace are going to look at what is he saying; he’s saying the right things. Today, when it was announced, Sunday, when his victory was announced, his certain speech, he also said the right thing, so that is good.

You are right in saying that politicians and leaders saying one thing and another, what they actually do is important. I’m saying, therefore, that his skills at negotiating, at appealing to people, at bringing people and forming coalitions, reassuring both internal groups inside Egypt as well as how he talks to the international community.

By the way, we must remember he got part of his education in the United States and he lived in the United States, worked for NASA and was a professor, so he understands the American system much better than most people will suspect.

Therefore, I expect him to deal with the international issues quite carefully. I’m not saying he won’t have challenges but he appears to have some very good political skills.

GMA/HGH

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood calls anti-military protest over bid to curb president's powers

3 hrs ago
By The Associated Press | Associated Press
Source:Yahoo News

CAIRO - The campaign of an Islamist who claimed victory in Egypt's presidential runoff says the Muslim Brotherhood and other political groups plan a mass demonstration later Tuesday to protest a military declaration seeking to curtail the powers of the next president.

Campaign spokesmen for Mohammed Morsi say the protest is planned at Cairo's Tahrir Square, birthplace of the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak's regime 16 months ago. The protest is also to denounce a court ruling that dissolved parliament, where the Brotherhood dominated with just under half the seats.

One of the main liberal youth groups behind the uprising, April 6, said it was taking part in the protest.

Egypt's secular parties call for united front against military, Brotherhood

Sunday 17 Jun 2012
Source:Ahram Online

Five Egyptian political parties have jointly called for the establishment of a pro-civil-state political force to stand against "repression" by the military and Islamist groups.

In a statement released Sunday, the parties said attempts by the ruling military council to rehabilitate the regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak is "state despotism."

They also condemned what they said were plans by Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, to establish a religious dictatorship through the control of state institutions and by excluding other political factions from power.

The statement was signed by the Free Egyptians Party, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Egypt Freedom Party - three parties established after the 2011 uprising - as well as the older Democratic Front Party and Nasserist Karama Party.

The parties criticised last week's decision by the justice ministry to grant military police the power to arrest civilians, as well as the High Constitutional Court's decision to dissolve parliament.

The parties said the decisions were politically motivated and their timing suspicious because they had provoked a political crisis just days before the presidential election runoff.

The statement's signatories said efforts should be focused on building a national consensus based on respecting judicial verdicts and election results, whilst upholding the right of peaceful protest at all times.

Hosni Mubarak was toppled from power by a popular uprising in early 2011. He was recently convicted of failing to stop the killing of protesters during the uprising that toppled him.

Two leading Egypt MPs stopped from entering the People Assembly

Monday 18 Jun 2012
Source:Ahram Online

Head of the legislative committee of the People's Assembly Mahmoud El-Khodairy and deputy head of the committee Mohamed El-Omda were prevented by security from entering the committee's office on Monday morning.

On Friday, the ruling military council ordered for the People's Assembly (the lower house of parliament) to be dissolved in line with a Thursday High Constitutional Court verdict declaring Egypt's Parliamentary Law - which regulated last year's polls - to be unconstitutional.

Both parliamentarians were on their way to look into the court verdict when they were prevented from entering.

On Sunday, majority leader of the People’s Assembly Hussein Ibrahim of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party, stressed that “The People’s Assembly has not been dissolved, and the calling for our Tuesday meeting is still on.”

Egypt army to outline president's role, retain powers

3 hrs ago
By Marwa Awad | Reuters
Source: Yahoo News

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's ruling generals will make a declaration on Monday that will give the newly elected president the power to appoint a cabinet, but legislative powers will for now go back to the army after parliament was dissolved, official sources said on Sunday.

To Islamists and revolutionaries, the declaration - which will come hours after polls closed in a presidential race - will raise questions over whether the military has met a pledge to hand power to civilians by July 1. Many will see it as a bid to consolidate power in the hands of the army council, which took control after mass protests toppled Hosni Mubarak last year.

Elections to a new parliament would not now take place until a new constitution was drafted and approved by referendum, the sources said, adding that a constitution could be drawn up by a body appointed by the generals, rather than the old parliament.

The state-run news agency confirmed the constitutional declaration would be issued on Monday but did not give details.

Until now, the president's powers have not been clearly defined and the Supreme Constitutional Court's decision on Thursday to dissolve the Islamist-led parliament elected this year added further uncertainty to Egypt's troubled transition.

"In the absence of parliament, legislative powers move back to the military council, which has been in charge of the country and will hand over presidential powers to the president soon," a military source told Reuters.

"The head of state will have the power to appoint a prime minister and cabinet ministers," the source said, adding the president would also have powers to appoint other posts, such as a number of unelected members, around 10, to parliament.

The military council met a civilian body which advises the generals, along with other experts, on Sunday to discuss the declaration, a lawyer who attended the meeting said.

"The presidential powers which the military council held until now will now shift to the new president," he said.

BROTHERHOOD OBJECTS

The Muslim Brotherhood, which dominated parliament, called the decision to dissolve the chamber a "coup" and said it showed the army was seeking to concentrate powers in its hands.

The speaker of the dissolved parliament, the Brotherhood's Saad al-Katatni, also said the generals had no right to issue a constitutional declaration.

Katatni "stressed that the decision to dissolve parliament and the procedures following such decision is not based on any articles in the existing constitutional decree" after he met the generals on Sunday, his office said in a statement.

A day before it was dissolved last week, parliament had for a second time approved the formation of a special assembly to draft a new constitution. But like a first attempt to appoint members to such a body, it ran into opposition from liberals. Some have threatened to challenge the assembly again in court.

The new declaration on Monday will give the military council the right to form a new constitutional assembly if the latest one set up by parliament is dissolved by a court, as the first one was, the legal expert and army source said.

The declaration will also give the army "full control over military internal affairs including appointments and dismissals of military personnel and the defence budget". Critics had said the budget for the armed forces should be transparent and overseen by parliament.

In a show of defiance, Katatni said that the existing constitutional assembly will convene on Monday to begin drafting a constitution. The members would meet in the upper house of parliament, which has not been dissolved.

Under the new declaration, the constitutional assembly, whether the one approved by parliament or one formed by the military council, would have three months to draft a constitution after which a referendum would be held on it.

Elections for a new parliament would then take place within a month. The legal expert said this could be in October or November.

Egypt's new president to be sworn in before judiciary after parliament dissolution: SPEC head

Saturday 16 Jun 2012
Source:Ahram Online

The new president of Egypt is to take the oath of office in front of the High Constitutional Court, according to a report by Al-Ahram daily newspaper on Saturday, quoting Farouk Sultan, the of the head of the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission (SPEC).

The constitution's provisions state that the president's swearing-in ceremony takes place before both the lower and upper houses.

However, considering the High Constitutional Court issued a verdict on Thursday dissolving the People's Assembly (lower house), the coming president will take the oath in front of a judiciary body.

"Most probably the ruling military council will issue a new Constitutional Declaration that will define the authorities of the new president and would allow the elected head of state to take the oath of office in front of the highest judiciary body, as is the case in some other countries," Sultan speculated to the Arabic-language daily paper.

According to the SPEC head, the new Constitutional Declaration will only be valid until the new constitution is drafted.

Last week the parliament elected a 100-member constituent assembly to draft the first constitution after the ouster of the 84-year-old former president Mubarak, who is now serving a life sentence in prison.

After the constitutional court verdict was issued Thursday, however, the elected assembly is considered void and the new constitution will have to wait for the fait of its drafting assembly to be defined.

Reportedly, Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) will form a new constituent assembly to replace the one that was dissolved. The first constituent assembly was appointed by a parliament dominated 70 per cent by Islamists; namely the Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, and the Salafist’s Nour Party.

The first round of Egypt’s elections narrowed down the choices for president to two candidates. The runoff elections on Saturday and Sunday (16 and 17 June) will reveal whether Egypt’s new president will be Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, or the head of the FJP, Muhamed Mursi.

We will succeed': Brotherhood reacts to verdict dissolving Egypt Parliament

Thursday 14 Jun 2012
Source: Ahram Online

Leading Muslim Brotherhood figure Mahmoud Ezzat said Thursday that he believed the Egyptian people would vote for the Islamist group in both the upcoming presidential runoffs and new parliamentary elections, in a statement to Al-Ahram Arabic language news website.

His comments follow the verdict of the High Constitutional Court (HCC), which saw Egypt's Parliament dissolved, as the elections of one third of the parliamentary seats reserved for individual candidates, were deemed unconstitutional.

The Political Disenfranchisement Law was also rejected by the courts, giving former regime figure Ahmed Shafiq the green light to face the Brotherhood's candidate Mohamed Mursi in the 16 - 17 June presidential runoffs.

“We are waiting to read the rationale of verdicts issued by the HCC so the Muslim brotherhood can comment officially,” Ezzat added. The Brotherhood member also speculated about the timing of the ruling, as the constitutional court had previously taken years to reach its final verdict, citing the three-year decision to declare the 1987 parliamentary elections unconstitutional and to dissolve the parliament.

Parliament 'will hold its activities as planned' as verdict implementation within SCAF's powers

Thursday 14 Jun 2012
Source:Ahram Online

The Head of the Egypt's Constitutional Court Farouk Sultan said that Thursday's court rulings have been issued in the state's Official Journal and are thus enforceable.

However, Sultan said that the Constitutional court does not have the authority to implement its verdicts, in case parliament does not suspend its activities in response, and that implementation is within the powers of the executive authorities, which are currently at the command of SCAF.

Egypt's High Constitutional Court on Thursday ruled that the Political Disenfranchisement Law, which had been referred to it by the Presidential Elections Commission, was unconstitutional. In the same session, the court found the election of one third of parliamentary seats, reserved for individual candidates, unconstitutional.

On the other hand, Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Salafist Al-Nour party figure Ashraf Thabet said that parliament will hold its Tuesday plenary as normal, denying that parliament will hold an emergency session upon the ruling.

He further said that parliament will be discussing its legal options following the ruling since it only concerns one third of its members.

As though unfazed by the ruling, the parliamentary secretariat distributed the periodical agenda of the parliamentary committees’ activities, which start on 18 June.

Parliament speaker: We have not received official notification to dissolve

Friday 15 Jun 2012
Source:Ahram Online

Egypt's speaker of the People's Assembly Saad El-Katatny said that the parliament has not yet received notification of the Thursday High Constitutional Court's decision to dissolve both houses of parliament.

In a statement published on Friday morning on the official site of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) El-Katatny charged the media has been waging a war against the parliament in the past few months.

El-Katatny hinted that the court's ruling is politically motivated claiming that Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri had previously threatened him that the Constitutional Court already had a raedy-to-announce verdict to dissolve the parliament.

He added he participated on Thursday in a combined meeting between the executive board of the FJP and the Brotherhood's Supreme Guidance Bureau to discuss the steps the group will take in the next few days.

El-Katatny added they also agreed the FJP's presidential candidate, Mohamed Mursi, will continue in the second round of the presidential elections set to start on Saturday.

The Egyptian Coup and The Global Oligarchy

Saturday, June 16,2012
written by : Sheila Quinn
source: A New Era


It is obvious that The Global Oligarchy is behind what has recently happened in Egypt. It is not surprising that judges who were appointed by Mubarak would disband a parliament that is representative of The Egyptian people. Those who criticize it as a coup are right on target. But it is more than a coup, it is the global oligarchy attempting to retain its control over Egypt. I wonder just how many Egyptians like the reality that their country is under the control of the global oligarchy. I wonder how many Egyptian secularists approve of Egypt being under the control of foreigners.

Earlier the judges threatened to disband the parliament because of the issue of how many members in parliament were elected as "independent". But they did not disband it. They waited until the election for president was in just a few days; and then they disbanded it.

What happened before it was disbanded? Well, there was a need to write a new constitution. Therefore, members for a committee who would write the new constitution were chosen. All sections of the Egyptian society were represented, and therefore did have a voice in the committee. "Islamists"- members of The Freedom and Justice Party and The Al-Nour party- of course dominated the committee. These two groups combined got seventy percent of the electoral vote. Seven out of ten Egyptians voted for either the Freedom and Justice Party or The Al-Nour Party. Therefore, it is logical that the "Islamists" should dominate the committee. Yet, some Egyptian secularists objected to this fact and complained to the Mubarak appointed judges- the same judges who ultimately disbanded the parliament. Some secularists complained that the new constitution should have been written before the elections. But such a position is illogical. Who would be on the committee that wrote the new constitution? Who would decide who would be on such a committee? The only logical way for the committee to have been chosen is by those who were elected by the Egyptian people. Now SCAF is threatening to write the new constitution.

Who do I blame for the parliament being disbanded? I do not blame the judges who were appointed by Mubarak. They were only acting according to their nature. I blame those secularists who went to those same Mubarak appointed judges and complained about the "Islamists" dominating the constitutional committee. It is obvious that the great majority of Egyptians support the "Islamists". The Egyptian secularists should understand this and accept it. Do these same secularists want Mubarak's regime back-minus Mubarak? Do they want the global oligarchy to rule Egypt through puppets- like it did under Mubarak?

Dispatches From Cairo: Testing Democracy

May 22, 2012
By Lauren Unger-Geoffroy
Source: truthdig

We asked Lauren Unger-Geoffroy, an international artist who lives in Cairo, to share her perspective of life in Egypt after the revolution. In this entry, she writes about Egypt’s imminent presidential election.

Here in Cairo every conversation turns to this week’s presidential election, hopefully the first true democratic election in the country’s history. Since Egypt’s first presidential debate May 10, which featured the two leading candidates—liberal Amr Moussa and moderate Islamist Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh—every person has reflected, discussed and rethought their choices.

It has been an amazing few weeks of logical discussions, without violence or blood. People are truly searching for a best choice, and beginning to really believe they can decide the future of their nation. In every cafe, shop, office, street and home, people are calmly exchanging their thoughts and opinions and weighing pros and cons.

It remains to be seen whether they will understand and accept the principle of democracy: The candidate chosen by the majority becomes the president, and the other contenders must yield to the voters’ decision, game over.

I watched most of the four-hour marathon debate over pastries and 7UP at the home of my former neighbors and close friends, a retired general and his wife with whom I had passed many evenings during the first 18 days of the revolution.

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The apartment building where the general and his wife live, and I used to also, is on an isolated dark street. Near the end of the time I lived there, it had been evacuated except for my two female roommates and me, a Chinese guy who kept telling us that we would be raped and killed, and the general and his extended family, who own the building. We had no TV in our flat, where all that remained were our mattresses and piles of books. We were all about to move. I was in the middle of relocating to the apartment building I live in now when it was firebombed and the area became inaccessible. So I stayed on with my roommates huddled in our empty apartment, listening to the shots and explosions and yelling outside through bolted shutters with lights out so as not to reveal our presence. Severe curfews were in place, tanks and thugs were everywhere, gunshots were coming from all directions and men stood guard with baseball bats and sabers around campfires at street intersections, serving as block patrols. The telephone and Internet had been cut off, and food was scarce.

Back then, we gathered cautiously downstairs in front of the general’s TV while his son and grandson took their turns as street guards with the other men of the block. I remember how the general spoke of President Hosni Mubarak’s appointing Ahmed Shafik as prime minister at that time. The general knew Shafik well, having fought beside him, and didn’t like him. The general had been invited to state military affairs and honor dinners, but he had no love for those he considered corrupt and he was happy for the revolution.

As we watched the debate two weeks ago, I was looking forward to seeing how the general felt about the candidates, knowing that he was somewhat religious and sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood, following a few of its religious speakers. Before the debate started, he told me he had no preference for one candidate over the other.

Two hours into it, Moussa’s lack of charisma, jerky body movements and no sense of conviction or confidence turned us off compared to the more appealing Aboul Fotouh. However, by the end of three hours Aboul Fotouh had been trapped into revealing his own insincere currying of favor from opposing camps, and we soured on him as well. The questions were well chosen—and the traps were set for both.

Moussa was forced to say that Israel is the enemy, and was goaded into losing his cool, becoming aggressive and insulting.

Aboul Fotouh was forced to say that a man could worship as he wanted, in regard to the Quran-ordered Shariah law that states if a Muslim converts to Christianity he must be killed. He had previously confirmed the opposite to the Salafists, whom he was also courting.

After three hours, the general had had enough of both of them and switched channels—first to watch wrestling, which he is convinced is true blood sport, and then to the prepared interview made by the Muslim Brotherhood with its candidate, Mohamed Morsi, who had declined to participate in the debate. The well-rehearsed Morsi came across as a savior, pure, honest, simple, warm, noble and pious yet reasonable.

I couldn’t take more than three and a half hours, so the general and his wife drove me home around 1 a.m. I asked him who they would vote for (as he, of course, decides for both of them) and he laughed, saying he wasn’t going to vote. He had never voted, he said, as there was never any point before and he didn’t want his name on anything. You never know what someone might do with it.

In the days after the debate, I talked with friends and people in the street. People of all socio-political tendencies had watched it and were talking about how they were unimpressed by the two candidates. Many said they suddenly felt a new spark of infatuation with either Morsi or one of three other lesser-known, non-majority candidates.

I have been hearing a surprising number of people say that they are considering Shafik, the former commander of the Egyptian air force, despite the fact that the street’s reaction to his election would cause a revolution more massive than we have seen yet, and the army would have to kill all the protesters. He has been helped by national media propaganda putting him forward in shamelessly invented polls, the usual tricks.

Egypt to pick Islamist or military man as president

6 hrs ago
By Marwa Awad and Edmund Blair | Reuters
Source:Yahoo News

CAIRO (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood said on Friday its candidate in Egypt's first free presidential vote would fight a run-off next month with ex-air force chief Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister of deposed leader Hosni Mubarak.

This week's first-round vote has polarised Egyptians between those determined to avoid handing the presidency back to a man from Mubarak's era and those fearing an Islamist monopoly of ruling institutions. The run-off will be held on June 16 and 17.

The election marks a crucial step in a messy and often bloody transition to democracy, overseen by a military council that has pledged to hand power to a new president by July 1.

The second round threatens further turbulence. Opponents of Shafiq have vowed to take to the streets if he is elected.

But to supporters, Shafiq's military background offers reassurance that he can restore security, a major demand of the population 15 months after Mubarak's ouster.

A victory for the Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi could worsen tensions between resurgent Islamists and the powerful army, which sees itself as the guardian of the state.

Christians and secular liberals anxious about their own freedoms and the fate of Egypt's vital tourist industry will fret about a promised Brotherhood push for Islamic law.

"Now Egyptians will have to choose between the revolution and the counter-revolution. The next vote will be equivalent to holding a referendum on the revolution," Mohamed Beltagy, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood's party, told Reuters.

If Mursi becomes president, Islamists will control most ruling institutions - but not the military - in Egypt, the most populous Arab nation, consolidating electoral gains made by fellow-Islamists in other Arab countries in the past year.

Egypt military hits out at Muslim Brotherhood

12 hours ago
Aljazeera
Source: Yahoo News Maktoob

Egypt's ruling generals have lashed out at the Muslim Brotherhood over its questioning of the military's continued support of the cabinet, while urging the Islamists "to look to the future with the spirit of cooperation."

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces [SCAF] in a statement on Sunday expressed "extreme indignation" over Brotherhood comments that questioned its motives in supporting the government, which the Islamists accuse of stalling the revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

The SCAF also called "on all to be aware of history's lessons, to avoid past mistakes we do not want to see repeated, and to look to the future with the spirit of cooperation."

In a statement read out by Egyptian state television, it expressed "grave resentment" toward charges by the leading Islamist group that cast doubts upon "the performance and the patriotism of the government, the independence of the supreme constitutional court and influence on the neutrality of its verdicts". It said all such charges "are lies and biased accusations".

'Warning'

The SCAF urged the Muslim Brotherhood to "understand history lessons" in a veiled reference to the group's clash with late President Gamal Abdel Nasser shortly after the 1952 revolution.

The Brotherhood, whose political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party won a crushing victory in parliamentary elections, had issueda statement accusing the government of stalling reforms. It said the government's performance had been the "biggest failure", pointing to unrest, judicial interference, stalling of reforms, fuel shortages and dwindling foreign reserves.

In a statement posted on its website, the Freedom and Justice Party said the presidential elections due in May could be rigged to benefit a "certain candidate" it did not identify. It added that the party is studying proposals to field its own candidate, reversing an earlier decision not to do so.

The Freedom and Justice Party has been pressuring the military to sack the cabinet and appoint an FJP-led government.

But the SCAF, which took power after the popular uprising, has stood by the cabinet and its head Kamal Ganzuri.

"When we called for the resignation of the government, its head refused, and this was unfortunately supported by the military council," the Brotherhood said in its statement.

"If anyone intends to recreate the former corrupt regime with new faces, the people are willing to move in order to revive their revolution and protect their ship from sinking at the hands of people with no sense of responsibility," it said.

Last month, a lawsuit was brought before the supreme constitutional court arguing that the parliamentary election was unconstitutional due to its complex voting system.

The Islamists said they fear the military council could push through this lawsuit should they insist on Ganzuri's removal.

Egypt parties want Mubarak allies barred from vote

Sep 14, 2011
By Yasmine Saleh, Reuters
Source:Yahoo News

CAIRO (Reuters) - Political parties have called on Egypt's military rulers to ensure that figures associated with the government of ousted President Hosni Mubarak cannot run in parliamentary elections expected this year.

The military council that took over from Mubarak after street protests forced him to stand down in February has said it will hold a parliamentary vote this year, although a statement earlier this week announcing plans for voter registration did not mention any dates.

"The members of the coalition insist on changes to the parliamentary elections law and a law that would prevent the return of remnants of the former regime," a coalition of 17 groups, including the leading Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group, said in a statement late on Tuesday.

A member of the military council was quoted in the daily Akhbar newspaper as saying meetings were being conducted to set an election date, and its timetable will be set in the last week of September.

The council member, General Mamdouh Shaheen, said the council would consider some amendments to the election rules, which include a complex system of proportional representation that some political groups say could allow Mubarak loyalists to run as individuals.

Mohamed el-Beltagy, senior figure in the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party, said the voting system needed to be streamlined and clear rules laid down to keep out Mubarak allies.

"We need a law that would only let party candidates or known independent candidates run for elections and nominations should be based on a clear electoral program and background including a candidate's history of public work," he told Reuters.

Egypt held parliamentary elections last year that were viewed by many observers as the most rigged of Mubarak's 30 years in office. His ruling National Democratic Party has been dissolved.

Many activists are worried that the military will delay the elections. The government said this week it would toughen implementation of emergency laws after protesters stormed the Israeli embassy last week, embarrassing Egypt abroad.

Some analysts think the military is worried that Islamists will come out strongest in this year's vote.

"I think the military council is hesitant to hold an election for fear that the Muslim Brotherhood could secure a majority," said political analyst Mustapha al-Sayyid, adding such a parliament could try to alter the constitution to increase the influence of Islam.

Some voices in the Brotherhood, which has avoided strong criticism of the council in recent months, are threatening to take to the streets to prevent an election delay.

The Brotherhood is "ready to offer more martyrs in protests" if the elections are put off, official Hassan al-Prince said at a conference in Alexandria on Tuesday night.

(Reporting and writing by Yasmine Saleh; Editing by Andrew Hammond and Peter Graff)

Muslim Brotherhood bloc threatens Egypt vote boycott

Sep 29, 2011
By Mona Salem, AFP
Source: Yahoo News

CAIRO (AFP) - The credibility of Egypt's first elections since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak was thrown into question Thursday after a coalition led by the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood threatened a boycott.

A statement late Wednesday by the Democratic Coalition said its members would not stand in November's legislative elections if a controversial article in the new electoral law was not amended.

They objected to Article Five of the electoral law, which bans political parties from running in a third of the seats in parliament, which are reserved for independent candidates.

The measure has already been rejected by more than two dozen political parties, who object that it could help return old regime figures to parliament.

"We refuse to take part in elections if Article Five of the electoral law is not cancelled," said the Democratic Coalition statement.

The coalition comprises more than two dozen groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and the liberal Wafd party.

Egypt's interim military rulers -- the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces -- announced on Tuesday that the first stage of parliamentary elections would be held on November 28.

But in an amendment to the electoral law, it said two-thirds of parliament would be elected through a party list under the proportional representation system.

The rest would be elected through a simple majority, which only independent candidates would be allowed to contest.

The Democratic Coalition said they were "astonished" at the Supreme Council's position.

They had, it argued, "refused the request of the political forces to elect all members of parliament by the closed, proportional lists system."

Under Article Five, it argued, a third of the seats would be exclusively for "independents and candidates from the old regime."

The Democratic Coalition and many other political parties have already called for a pure proportional representation system.

They also want to see the activation of a law that would ban corrupt politicians from running for office.

Under the old system, hundreds of candidates ran as independents if they did not make it onto Mubarak's National Democratic Party lists, only to join the party after winning seats.

Under Mubarak independents affiliated with his party used patronage or pressure to garner votes, something that the proportional list system would help avoid, the parties say.

Article Five of the new electoral law specifically forbids those elected as independents from joining a parliamentary bloc once elected -- on pain of losing their seats.

The military had promised that it would not conduct the election under a state of emergency, which was widened in scope this month after protesters ransacked the Israeli embassy in Cairo and clashed with police.

The controversial emergency law -- which has been continuously in place since Islamists assassinated president Anwar Sadat in 1981 -- had been regularly extended under Mubarak's regime.

A military official has told state media the emergency law could stay in place until mid-2012, although the military wanted to end the state of emergency as soon as possible.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday she hoped Egypt would lift its emergency law before June 2012, speaking at a press conference in Washington with Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr.

She added that Washington supported the steps Egypt has taken toward democratic elections following Mubarak's overthrow in February.

London-based advocacy group Amnesty International, meanwhile, said that based on a video posted online, detainees "are still being subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in Egypt."

"The uniforms may have been replaced with new ones but the behaviour of the security forces seems to be the same," Amnesty said in a statement.

"The army and security officers in the video must immediately be suspended pending the result of the investigation."

Amnesty said the "deeply disturbing video' appears to show members of the army and security forces beating and electrocuting detainees.

Egypt's democratic transition lags amid confusion

Sep 20, 2011
By Samer al-Atrush, AFP
Source:Yahoo News

CAIRO (AFP) - It took 18 days of democracy protests to end Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's 30 years in power. It may yet take at least 18 months after his overthrow to see off the generals who succeeded him.

The military, in charge since Mubarak was toppled in February, has said it will not hand over power until presidential elections are held. According to a timeline announced this week, that may not happen until August 2012.

The head of the electoral commission said this week a three-stage parliamentary election will start on November 21 and end on January 3. A senate election will begin on January 22 and end on March 4.

The military had said that, after the election, a panel will create a constitution to replace Mubarak's, which was suspended after his ouster. It has six months to finish its work and then Egypt will vote for a new president.

Back in February, perhaps only a few of the hundreds of thousands who braved riot police and regime thugs to demand democracy would have imagined that Mubarak's end would usher in prolonged martial rule.

A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says the military, which is headed by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, is not to blame for the delays.

"There were many demands to delay the elections," he said. "And there is lack of stability in security."

The country suffers from sporadic unrest -- such as deadly clashes between protesters and police this month after activists stormed the Israeli embassy -- and the police have yet to recover from the February revolt.

The military official said a decision this month to split the parliamentary and senate elections, which will prolong the transition, was made at judges' requests because they would not have the manpower to monitor simultaneous elections.

The transition so far has been beset by tangle of confused demands from a plethora of activist groups and political parties and sometimes equally confused responses by the military and the caretaker cabinet it appointed.

Protesters who helped topple Mubarak now demonstrate against military rule, merely switching Mubarak with Tantawi in their chants. One of their main demands is an end to the military trials of thousands of civilians after Mubarak's ouster.

Yet many secular groups want a delay in parliamentary elections, fearing their well-organised and financed Islamist rivals would snap up the seats.

"There are conflicting demands, and that is the result of the weakness of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's cabinet," said Nabil Abdel Fatah, an analyst with the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.

"It is the result of the absence of a clear roadmap for transition," he said.

An agreement on a transitional plan has so far eluded the political players. The Muslim Brotherhood, the country's best organised movement, insists on quick parliamentary elections.

The Brotherhood, and other Islamist groups, also organised in July a massive rally in Cairo to protest demands by secular groups for a declaration of constitutional principles before elections.

The government has said it is working on drafting such principles, although a senior Brotherhood official insisted to AFP that, privately, the cabinet has assured them it was not.

Such a declaration, Abdel Fattah said, could allow for the election of a president, who would take over from the military, before a parliamentary election.

The Brotherhood says it is not running a candidate for the presidential election, but it will contest up to half of parliament.

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood expels presidential hopeful

Jun 22, 2011
By YASMINE SALEH | REUTERS
Source: Kinetic Truth

CAIRO: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has expelled a senior member for saying he would run for president in defiance of the group’s decision not to seek the post vacant since the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in February.

The Brotherhood announced in April that its newly formed “Freedom and Justice” party would contest up to half the seats in a parliamentary election in September but would not field a candidate for the presidency to avoid dominating power.

But Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh said in May he would run as an independent in a presidential vote expected to take place before the end of the year as an independent.

“The Shoura Council (the group’s decision-making body) has decided to scrap the membership of Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh… because he announced he would run for the presidency,” the Brotherhood said in a statement posted on its website.

The group, long seen as Egypt’s best organized political force, gained new opportunities after Mubarak was toppled by a popular revolt and his National Democratic Party was dissolved.

Analysts saw the expulsion of Abul Futuh as a proof of simmering disagreements between younger Brotherhood members and its older and more conservative leaders.

“This certainly shows the divisions among the Muslim Brotherhood,” said Mustapha Al-Sayyid, a political science professor.

“The young Muslim Brothers seem to favor Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh becoming a candidate for the presidency while others from the older generation do not want that,” he added.

According to Sayyid, the group’s old guard wants to play safely in the election, preferring not to field a candidate in case he lost.

Abul Futuh said in a statement that he was “not concerned” with the Brotherhood’s decision to expel him.

“I am the candidate of all Egyptians and I am confident that I will get a majority of votes including votes of members from the Muslim Brotherhood led by its supreme guide, Mohamed Badie.”

The Brotherhood became the biggest opposition bloc in parliament in a 2005 election, winning a fifth of the seats. It boycotted the last election under Mubarak in November 2010.

The September election could be Egypt’s first free vote after decades of widespread vote-rigging in favor of Mubarak’s ruling party. It will also be seen as a test of the true strength of the Brotherhood and its political opponents.

Why the Muslim Brotherhood Are Egypt's Best Democrats

June 21, 2011
by Bobby Ghosh
Source: Global Spin

After the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, many Western commentators were surprised by the ease with which Iraq's religious movements adapted to multiparty democracy. The Shi'ite groups, in particular, were quick to organize into political parties, set up grass-roots organizations across the country and form practical coalitions ahead of elections. Long assumed to be ideologically opposed to democracy, these groups showed they were in fact brilliantly adaptable. Their leaders, despite having little experience in kissing babies, campaigned like seasoned pros.

In contrast, Iraq's liberal parties were rank amateurs. Their leaders, despite having spent decades in exile in Western democracies (whereas most Islamist exiles were confined to places like Iran and Syria), seemed not to understand how democracy works: people like Iyad Allawi and Ahmed Chalabi had an air of entitlement, assuming that people would vote for them merely because they were modern, progressive and famous. They didn't bother to create a national party infrastructure, nor did they care to campaign. Instead, they held all-day salons in the manner of medieval monarchs giving audience to the elite.

Something very similar is unfolding in Egypt. Of all the political groups to have emerged since the fall of Hosni Mubarak — including the myriad youth movements, secular parties, leftists and remnants of the old National Democratic Party — the Muslim Brotherhood seem to have the best understanding of how democracy works. The Islamist group may have taken a backseat to the liberal youth movement that brought down the dictator, but it has wasted little time in preparing for the post-Mubarak era. Although the generals in charge of Egypt's transition have not yet announced a date for the parliamentary elections (which are expected in the fall), the Brotherhood is already campaigning vigorously, in Cairo and the countryside. The youth movement, on the other hand, seems unable to break out of protest mode.

(PHOTOS: Portraits of the Revolutions in the Arab World)

The gap between the two sides was exposed in a mid-March referendum on constitutional reforms. The Brotherhood mobilized a massive "yes" vote to ensure that any meaningful reforms would take place after the parliamentary elections. The liberals were split, unsure as to which scenario they feared more: a constitution written by a military-appointed panel before the elections, or one written by a Brotherhood-dominated parliament afterward. It was a rout: 77% voted yes.

The gap has not closed. Since the referendum, many liberals have sought to undermine the result by trying to force through reforms before the elections. Their great champion, former U.N. nuclear watchdog (and Nobel laureate) Mohamed ElBaradei, argues that the constitution can't wait for people's elected representatives. The youth leaders agree and are threatening to return to Tahrir Square if they don't get their way. They claim the referendum doesn't matter because the Brotherhood misled Egyptians by portraying it as a vote on religion. (The Islamists deny this, and some neutral observers say both sides played fast and loose with the facts.)

This carping makes the liberals look like sore losers, and far from democratic. Critics accuse them of trying to buy time: a postponement in the elections would give liberals more time to get their political house in order and hopefully catch up with the Brotherhood's organizational lead. Even Alaa al-Aswany, a novelist and strong Brotherhood critic, acknowledges that it ill behooves the liberals to attempt an end run around the referendum. "The people made a choice, and we have to respect it," he says.

The Brotherhood, meanwhile, is sitting pretty. It has offered to form a broad coalition with liberals and leftists in the elections, and promises that there will be no attempt to hijack the constitutional reform process afterward. "The new constitution has to be written by all Egyptians," says Essam Erian, a top Brotherhood leader. "No one group should have a louder voice than the others." This makes the Islamists look responsible and conciliatory, and is likely to play well with voters. (See more on the Brotherhood's election strategy in posts to come.)

In Iraq, it took the liberals years to catch up with the religious parties in organizational and campaigning skills. In the last election, Allawi finally cobbled together a coalition that won more seats than any other group, only to be outmaneuvered by postelection horse trading. If Egypt's liberals aren't careful, a similar fate awaits them.

Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/06/21/why-the-muslim-brotherhood-are-egypts-best-democrats/#ixzz1Pzm0f7Tt