The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) does not make secret deals with anyone, and voters have the last word, said NDP Secretary-General Safwat Sherif at an NDP meeting on Tuesday. Sherif said the NDP engages in fair competition with the other political parties, and the election booth will determine who wins. He went on to say that the NDP will enter the elections with a strong and organized party capable of competing with the opposition, and that it has been working over the past five years to come up with a number of programs that have proved to be effective. According to Sherif, the NDP abides by all of the rules and regulations of the Supreme Elections Committee which ensure equality between parties involved in the elections within the framework of the law and the Constitution. He also said the party refuses to mix politics with religion. During the meeting, Assistant Secretary-General and Chairman of the Policies Committee Gamal Mubarak said the NDP's agenda reflects the party's many years of experience in policy decision making and its policies are prepared after exchanging opinion and with the participation of a number of central and governorate party leaders. During the meeting, senior NDP official Ahmed Ezz presented a report on NDP candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections. Ezz said the number of candidates in the internal elections reached 3700, with an average of eight candidates for each seat. There were 1000 female candidates with an average of 15 for each seat, he said. Also during the meeting, NDP Assistant Secretary-General Zakaria Azmi presented a report on the measures being taken to prepare for the NDP's annual conference, which will be held on 9-10 November. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
