Secretary-General of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) Safwat al-Sherif on Monday said that President Mubarak will deliver a speech to the party's annual conference delineating his political vision for the near future. The two-day conference will begin on 9 November. The party's election platform will prioritize raising the Egyptian standard of living, according to al-Sherif, who said the party intends to announce time frames and budgets for implementation of relevant initiatives. Al-Sherif also said candidates for the women's quota seat will be chosen by electoral colleges on 27 October. A recent NDP general secretariat report said electoral colleges were convened for 132 constituencies and the process was largely well-organized. Electoral conferences in 17 party units, however, were called off due to violations. Meanwhile, security was recently forced to intervene in a fist fight between supporters of two rival NDP candidates vying for labor seats in Shubra, Cairo. In another dispute, at the party unit for Mahmasha--another district of Cairo--NDP candidates and officials exchanged accusations of bribery, revolving around purchasing votes. In the al-Darb al-Ahmar constituency, NDP candidates reportedly dispensed money to NDP members to secure favorable votes. The price for one vote was LE150, according to NDP sources. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
