Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

 The ruling National Democratic Party‘s decision to feature more than one candidate to vie for the same seat has been viewed by some as a sign of weakness.

In a statement the NDP Secretary General Safwat El-Sherif asserted that the party had decided to present more than one candidate in a number of constituencies as a result of various surveys and polls that were conducted among NDP members, adding that the NDP will give the voters the opportunity to express their personal choice when electing the MPs who will represent them.

According to observers the NDP's latest announcement is seen as an indication of the NDP's inability to manage its internal differences.

Senior researcher at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies Nabil Abdul Fatah emphasizes that the decision indicates that the party has failed to penalize its members who chose to run as independents against the party’s will. He stresses that the NDP fears that dissenting party members may run as independents and collaborate with the Muslim Brotherhood.

MB MP Hussein Ibrahim maintained that competition among NDP candidates resulted from a conflict among the NDP members illustrating that the NDP is a party based on personal interests. 

MP Mohamed Khalil Kwaitah, from the NDP representing Damieta however commends his party’s decision describing it as allowing transparency, integrity and openness in the electoral process, leaving the final decision to the voters. He denied that the NDP may have taken such a step to appease members of the NDP.

He added that the party’s interests and the interests of the nation are most important claiming that in the end the people will be the ones to have the final say.