Muslim Brotherhood’s Statement on Rigging of Parliamentary Election

 Respectable democratic systems confident of their legitimacy and popularity compete fairly with different political powers to gain the confidence of the public and the popular will of the people, and to implement the result of transparent and fair elections, taking into account people’s will and choices. Totalitarian regimes, however, that were not elected and have no legitimacy mainly rely on police support to rig competition and unlawfully usurp power by force.

Unfortunately, Egypt’s political system is from the second type and consistently falsifies the results of student unions, trade syndicates, teaching staff clubs, localities, the Shura Council and more recently, the People’s Assembly. Every election time the Egyptian regime claims that the elections will not be forged like those before it and will be fair and free. How we wish they were! But how can a corrupt and tyrannical system keep its promises or respect people’s will?

The system began early with mass electoral fraud regarding the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for November 28, 2010 as police arrested nearly 1000 of the group’s campaigners from the time the Muslim Brotherhood announced that they would field candidates in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. Nearly 100 businesses staffed by hundreds of people belonging to MB members in different governorates have been raided and their personal property has been confiscated.

Throughout that time the regime has revealed its intention to falsify the election results and tighten its grip around MB candidates, where dozens of MB candidates have been removed, including six parliamentarians, despite obtaining a final and enforceable court order. Although the Higher Election Commission has issued a decision that provides for tabling the candidates, security directorates refuse to comply with it and security forces have torn down placards and posters belonging to MB candidates, banned their rallies, surrounded them, beat up campaigners, used tear gas and opened fire on a crowd attending the rally and abducted them.

Unfortunately, some prosecutors ordered their detention for periods pending investigations, going beyond the date of the elections. Hundreds are already in jail.
Nominations, and the election process, are the constitutional rights of every citizen meeting its conditions of which senior government officials swore by Allah to respect. However, they did not keep their promises and they violated the constitution, usurped power, and made mischief in the land, causing people’s wrath after the conditions of Egypt’s economic, social, political, health and education sectors and its regional and international status deteriorated. Egypt’s submission to the US hegemony has increased steadily; government oppression and tensions are rising in Egypt with the approaching elections.

 We strongly warn of the serious implications that may result from such irresponsible acts for fear of spilling the blood of the masses, as happened in the 2005 elections, where 14 Egyptians were killed. It is imperative that each official intervenes immediately to curb the injustice and prevent oppression against the people for the country’s interests and its future.

 The MB urges the Egyptian people to insist on upholding their rights by peaceful means and no right is lost, as long as someone remains.

The Brotherhood will neither be deterred from the right path nor will it be intimated by arrests and will continue their struggle to regain people’s usurped rights, and to achieve the desired reform and restore Egypt to its great status among the nations.