To run or not AT A PRESS conference on Saturday 2 October the leftist Tagammu Party will announce its final position regarding its participation in parliamentary polls to be staged in late November. Reports say the decision, to be made immediately after a meeting of the party's secretariat-general, depends on how well the government has responded to the party's demands for fair elections as recently voiced by the opposition. Last month, Rifaat El-Said, the Tagammu chairman, submitted to Safwat El-Sherif, the secretary-general of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), 14 suggestions that El-Said said would guarantee the fairness of the parliamentary polls. El-Sherif promised to study the suggestions, then give an opinion. The NDP's reply did not satisfy the coalition of the four opposition parties, including the liberal Wafd, the Nasserist and Democratic Front in addition to Tagammu. The NDP's stand came as no surprise to the Democratic Front which already decided to boycott the polls, responding to a call by the National Assembly for Change (NAC) founded in February by Mohamed El-Baradei. NAC members say the boycott is necessary to avoid giving the appearance of legitimacy to elections it claims will be rigged in the absence of real guarantees. The Tagammu prefers to delay taking a final decision until 2 October. The belief is that this way it can press to get more electoral guarantees from the government. After finding the guarantees insufficient, the Wafd decided to run in the polls after 57 per cent of its general assembly members voted to participate, viewing the boycott as representing political passivity. Following the Wafd's cue, the Nasserist Party also decided to take part in the electoral battle, announcing that a preliminary list of 62 candidates had been drawn up. University surrounded SECURITY forces cordoned off the main gate to Cairo University and more than 20 armoured vehicles parked in a long queue in front of the entrance after students belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood (MB) decided to launch what they call their "Reformers" campaign. Acquainting their classmates with their own ideologies and goals was the apparent aim of the MB campaign in which students from nine other universities took part. Students raised huge banners on which sayings by the founder of the MB Sheikh Hassan El-Banna were inscribed. Photos of current MB leaders were also waved. Together with the Reformers campaign, another group of students belonging to the 6 April Movement organised a gallery, "You are the Solution", criticising the ruling system for what it said was the current deterioration in all aspects of life. The 6 April students distributed leaflets urging students to sign up for reform. Smuggled school books THE MOHARREM Bek prosecution in Alexandria on Sunday released Abul-Ezz El-Hariri, a member of the National Assembly for Change (NAC) and former deputy chairman of the leftist Tagammu Party, after he was remanded in custody for 24 hours on charges of selling unlicensed school books. El-Hariri was arrested on Saturday after security forces raided his bookshop and seized around 900 unlicensed books. Nearly two months ahead of the academic year, Minister of Education Ahmed Zaki Badr ordered a ban on selling outside school books not licensed by the ministry. After failing to pay fees estimated by the ministry, the five publishing houses across Egypt were not granted a licence, causing a crisis among parents and bookshop owners. News of bookshops shutting down and their owners arrested have been reported daily. On Monday, 29 bookshops in Giza governorate were raided by security forces who seized 28,000 books. Ten bookshop owners in Giza were arrested and referred to the prosecution for questioning. Islamist thinker dies PROMINENT Islamist thinker Abdel-Sabour Shahin died on Sunday at 82. Hundreds attended the funeral at Amr Ibn El-Aas Mosque in Old Cairo on Monday, though top state officials were absent. Those who did come to pay their last respects were hundreds of Shahin's Cairo University students and leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Azharite Sheikh Sami Metwalli El-Shaarawi described Shahin as a liberal Islamist thinker who added much to the Muslim nation. Shahin wrote more than 70 books and translated several French works into Arabic. Compiled by Mona El-Nahhas
