Tuesday: Egypt Local Elections Without Opposition

Tuesday: Egypt Local Elections Without Opposition

Egypt’s National Democratic Party (NDP) will be the only player in today’s local councils elections after the decision of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) to boycott them.


 


The MB’s decision was announced yesterday in a press conference at MB parliamentary bloc premises after potential candidates were victims to flagrant violations practiced by the NDP government from the very beginning of submitting the necessary documents to run for the election.


 


Other opposition candidates were also excluded from today’s vote.


 


 More than 20,000 candidates, most of them belong to ruling party, will compete on 18,000 seats. The majority of seats will be won by the NDP, according to all indications.


 


In a statement to Ikhwanweb, Dr. Abdul Monem Abul Fotouh, member of MB executive bureau, stated that the MB have obtained 3500 court decisions enabling them to run for the elections. The government did not execute any of them, he said.


 


He described the on-going elections as null, and said that the group has had many judicial decisions annulling the election process.


 


“These are no real elections, because the NDP is the sole player”, he added and called on “honest people” to boycott the vote.


 


He also held the government responsible for the rising public discontent due to rocketing prices, and denied allegations that the MB exploits the situation by any means.