Gamal Essam El-Din reviews the ground ahead of next Sunday's scramble for parliamentary seats Some 40 million people are eligible to vote in the 28 November People's Assembly elections, and those who cast their votes will be able to choose from a record number of candidates. On 21 November, the Higher Election Commission (HEC), the judicial body in charge of supervising the polls, announced that 5,120 candidates will be competing for 508 parliamentary seats, 64 of them reserved for women. The election will present the odd spectacle of ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) candidates vying for the same seat. According to the NDP the party is fielding multiple candidates in 125 of Egypt's 222 districts, each of which returns two members. Two NDP candidates will compete against each other in 41 districts, and more than two in 84 districts. These friendly fire battles will pit NDP politicians against businessmen and businessmen against their peers as old guard politicos and families with traditional footholds in the political sphere are challenged by prosperous members of the new business elite in what is shaping up to be a contest between old and new money. NDP candidates are also being challenged by candidates of the outlawed movement of Muslim Brotherhood in what promise to be some of the toughest election battles. The ruling party is fielding 839 candidates, a figure that includes 69 female candidates battling to represent the 64 newly created women-only seats. The Brotherhood is fielding 130 candidates, 31 less than in the 2005 election. Independent political analysts such as Al-Ahram's Wahid Abdel-Meguid do not believe that the three secular opposition parties -- the Wafd, the Tagammu and the Nasserists -- pose any real challenge to the election's two main players, the NDP and Muslim Brotherhood. Alexandria is expected to be the scene of some of the most ferocious campaigns. The Mediterranean city has already witnessed outbreaks of violence that could become more severe as election day approaches. Minister of Local Development and NDP candidate Mohamed Abdel-Salam El-Mahgoub faces a serious challenge from lawyer Sobhi Saleh, the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, in the low income district of Al-Raml. Following recent clashes between supporters of the two rival candidates hundreds of Brotherhood members were arrested. Five of the Brotherhood's strongest parliamentary hopefuls have been removed from the list of candidates in the city. The excluded candidates have staged a protest in front of the office of the People's Assembly speaker Fathi Sorour and their supporters have threatened to disrupt the polls. Veteran Brotherhood MP Hussein Ibrahim, one of the barred candidates, has accused central security forces as acting as the "NDP's military wing". A number of high-profile businessmen will be competing in the city, including Tarek Talaat Mustafa, chairman of the outgoing parliament's Housing Committee and brother of business tycoon Hisham Talaat Mustafa, currently facing trial on murder charges. They are joined by several leftist firebrands. Kamal Ahmed, a veteran independent with Nasserist leanings, is standing in Al-Atareen and Nasserist Mohamed El-Badrashini is running in the Ghobrial district where he faces NDP candidates. Three candidates are competing for the city's woman-only seat -- the Tagammu's Soheir Abdel-Zaher, the Brotherhood's Boshra Al-Samni and NDP candidate Nadia Abdu. The only easy battle in Alexandria looks to be in Moharrem Bey, where NDP candidate Moufid Shehab, minister of state for legal and parliamentary affairs, looks a shoe-in. In Cairo, Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros Ghali faces an easy battle in Al-Mahaad Al-Fanni. Minister of Petroleum Sameh Fahmi faces two strong women candidates in Nasr City and Heliopolis, the Brotherhood's Manal Abul-Hassan and the Tagammu's Nagwa Abbas. In the downtown district of Qasr Al-Nil a ferocious battle will be fought between NDP candidate Hisham Mustafa Khalil, the son of former prime minister Mustafa Khalil, and Gamila Ismail, the TV presenter and ex-wife of political activist Ayman Nour. In Shubra Rami Lakah, a business tycoon and the Wafd Party's candidate, faces a stiff challenge from the NDP's Fadi Al-Habashi, a former state security officer. In Abdeen the NDP's Mohsen Fawzi must overcome veteran MP and Ghad Secretary-General Ragab Hilal Hemeida while in the neighbouring Darb Al-Ahmar district NDP businessman Ahmed Shiha faces a hard battle against the Wafd's Alaa Abdel-Moneim. Two NDP candidates are expected to win unopposed, Fathi Sorour, the longstanding Speaker of the People's Assembly, in Sayeda Zeinab, and Zakaria Azmi, chief of President Hosni Mubarak's staff, in Zeitoun. In Helwan a neck to neck battle is being fought between Minister of Military Production Sayed Mashaal and independent Mustafa Bakri, the editor of the weekly Al-Osbou. In the Sharqiya district of Darb Negm two NDP candidates are competing for the same seat, former economy minister Mustafa El-Said and business tycoon Talaat El-Sweidi. In Abu Kebeir, Minister of Social Solidarity Ali Meselhi faces a tough battle against the Brotherhood's El-Simari Mansour whereas Minister of Agriculture Amin Abaza, NDP candidate in the Sharqiya district of Al-Tilien, is expected to coast home easily in the professionals' seat. Yet in the same district NDP candidate Yehia Azmi, the brother of Zakaria Azmi, faces an uphill struggle against the Brotherhood's Moemen Zarour. In Gharbiya governorate Mohamed El-Baradei, NDP candidate for the professionals seat and the son of the governor of Damietta Fathi El-Baradei, faces competition from Khaled Shalash of the MB and Wafd candidate Anwar Khalaf in Kafr Al-Zayat. In the same district Amin Radi, NDP candidate and deputy chairman of the outgoing parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, is involved in a stand-off with Brotherhood MP Hassanein El-Shura. In Menoufiya the families of late president Anwar El-Sadat and President Hosni Mubarak face difficult battles. In Tala two brothers, Effat, the NDP's candidate, and Zein, an independent, compete for the professionals' seat, while Mohamed, a third brother, faces the NDP's Fakhri Tayel for the workers' seat. Effat, Zein and Mohamed are cousins of Anwar El-Sadat. In Shebin Al-Qom, the capital of Menoufiya, Amin Mubarak, a cousin of President Mubarak, faces Brotherhood candidate Badr El-Fellah. In Menouf, the NDP's Secretary for Organisational Affairs Ahmed Ezz faces the Brotherhood's Ibrahim Haggag while in Quesna Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, another cousin of President Mubarak, is standing as an independent against former NDP MP Gamal Abu Zikri. In Upper Egypt Coptic businessman Mounir Fakhri Abdel-Nour, Secretary-General of the Wafd Party, will face veteran NDP MP Mustafa El-Katatni in the Sohag district of Girga. In Juhayna the NDP is fielding two candidates against each other in a tough battle: Minister of Irrigation Nasr Allam will battle it out with Hammam Abdeen, a former MP with strong tribal ties to the area. In Minya Saad El-Katatni, head of Brotherhood's parliamentary bloc, faces a tough struggle against three NDP candidates, Mahmoud Khalaf Allah, Shadi Abul-Ela and Mahmoud Kamel Marawan.
