Muslim Brotherhood to run in poll

Egypt's banned opposition group the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) is expected to stand in a third of the seats in next month's parliamentary elections. The group won 20 per cent of the seats in parliament in 2005, but this time round MB said it would contest 169 of more than 500 seats available.

The group's success in the 2005 elections surprised the Egyptian government and it has since paid greater attention to the group's activities, aiming to curtail them by arresting some of the group's key figureheads. MB's leader Mohammed Badie said he wanted to encourage a more open and fair vote and added that if rigged it would cast a shadow over the 2011 presidential elections.

"We ask all Egyptians to stand firm against any attempt to rig the elections and we call on the government to ensure a fair election," said Badie.

It is yet unclear whether President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt for 30 years, will stand for a sixth term in office. Former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA), Mohamed ElBaradei, has worked with MB to achieve electoral reform and has argued that boycotting parliamentary elections would deny the government its power. However, a spokesperson for MB has said that the group believes that standing would provide a chance for a fairer Egypt.

Source: BBC News

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Al-Dustour editor sacked over Mohamed ElBaradei article

The editor of Egypt's Al-Dustour newspaper Ibrahim Eissa has been sacked by the paper's publisher after being instructed not to run a feature by the leading opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei. Eissa's co-workers have staged a sit in protest of the dismissal.

Eissa, known for his satirical articles against the government, said he was not given the exact reason for the dismissal but that it came, "hours after the publishers told me they didn't want me to run an article written by Mohamed ElBaradei."

ElBaradei, the former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has emerged as a leading opposition figure since returning to Egypt in February. Al-Dustour was recently purchased by another opposition leader and head of the Al-Wafd Party Elseyed el-Badawi. The Wafd party refused to back ElBaradei's decision to boycott the upcoming elections, which critics say might be rigged.

In 2008, Eissa was sentenced to two months in prison for offending President Hosni Mubarak after he reported about his deteriorating health. It is yet unclear whether Hosni Mubarak will run for a sixth term in 2011 or whether he will be succeeded by his son Gamal.

Source: BBC News

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

Mohamed ElBaradei urges Egypt to boycott election

Former chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, has urged Egyptians to boycott November's parliamentary election, saying it is certain to be rigged by the government. ElBaradei explained that taking part in the election would go against "the national will" to transform Egypt into a democracy.

ElBaradei has not yet said whether he will run for president in 2011. And it is still unclear who will succeed President Mubarak, nor whether Mubarak will seek re-election, but speculation has been mounting and many believe that he will try to install his son, Gamal, in the role if he decides to retire.

Shorty after his return to Egypt, in February, ElBaradei's National Coalition for Change launched a petition calling for constitutional changes and guarantees of free elections. The petition lists seven demands including allowing independents to run for president, and the lifting of the emergency laws that have been in place since 1981.

"We have gathered nearly a million signatures in six months and we can reach up to two to three million more by the end of this year," said ElBaradei on Monday.

In talking about the government ElBaradei said that the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) has failed Egypt, and is responsible for rising poverty and illiteracy, and the disregard of human rights.

"When I look at the temple they built, I see a decaying temple, nearly collapsing. It will fall sooner rather than later. I will never enter this temple. What we call for is to bring down this temple in a peaceful civilised manner. If the whole population boycotts the elections totally, it will be in my view the end of the regime," concluded ElBaradei.

Source: BBC News

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

IAEA to help Egypt build new atomic energy sites

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief Yukiya Amano has said that the IAEA is ready to help Egypt to build new atomic energy sites.

Amano said the Egyptian government had almost finished working out the details of the re-launch of its atomic energy programme, and that the IAEA had offered to dispatch a team of experts to Egypt.

Egypt 's civilian nuclear power programme began with support from the Soviet Union in 1961 but was halted after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

It intends to construct four new atomic plants with oversight from the Vienna-based IAEA.

For more news and expert analysis about Egypt, please see Egypt Politics & Security.

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