By Shaden Shehab THE 28 November parliamentary polls will shape the future of Egypt for a generation. Al-Ahram Weekly offers a comprehensive guide to the elections, mapping the political landscape, profiling parties and their candidates, providing views and assessments including a brief history of parliament and the Higher Elections Committee, coverage of what are expected to be the most closely fought constituency battles, concerns over human rights violations and the challenges facing civil and international monitors alongside opinion articles by leading political commentators. Close to 30 million people are eligible to cast their vote on 28 November. The parliament that results will finalise presidential nomination procedures and conditions ahead of the autumn 2011 presidential elections, and debate laws related to political reform, economic development and social affairs. The newly elected People's Assembly will have more members than ever before. The number of seats has been increased from 454 -- including 10 appointees -- to 518 with the addition of 64 women only constituencies. Candidates seeking to contest next year's presidential elections will need the support of at least 64 members of the newly elected house. While concern over ballot rigging has been a consistent feature of the run-up to the poll, the most startling aspect of the elections is the number of candidates reached 5,725. With the exception of three political parties -- the Democratic Front led by Al-Ahram writer Osama El-Ghazali Harb, the Free Constitutional Socialist Party led by Mamdouh Qenawi and the Ghad (Tomorrow) Party led by Ayman Nour -- opposition forces, including the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, have rejected ex-International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed El-Baradei's call to boycott the ballot. In a surprising move, the ruling National Democratic Party alone fielded 780 candidates, while the liberal Wafd registered 205, the leftist Tagammu 78, the Nasserist 60, the Muslim Brotherhood around 140 and minor parties about 100. Meanwhile, 397 candidates are running for the women quota, and the number of independents stands at 3,965. For the first time citizens born after 1980 who are registered on voters' lists will be able to cast their ballots using national ID cards or passports rather than the red voting card. One thing we can promise is that 28 November will be an extraordinary day. And that the Weekly will continue to provide in-depth coverage of a crucial moment in Egypt's history. photo: Sherif Sonbol
