The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) opposition movement on Thursday announced its electoral program under its traditional motto, "Islam is the solution"--despite a ban placed on the use of religiously-themed electoral slogans by the government-run High Elections Commission. The MB justified the use of the motto by saying it was in accordance with the constitution, the law and judicial rulings, stressing that the phrase reflected the country's identity, culture and history. The group attributed its decision to participate in parliamentary elections--slated for 28 November--to the government's failure to manage the country's internal affairs, such as the provision of health, education and housing services to all its citizens, noting in particular its failure to provide clean water or sufficient bread supplies. In the first section of its electoral program, the MB calls for guaranteeing the rights of citizenship, maintaining national unity, and reforming civil society and local governance. The program also supports the right to form political parties, hold public gatherings, stage peaceful protests and establish professional and trade unions. The program also calls for the amendment of Articles 5, 76, 77, 88 and 179 of the national charter in order to limit the duration of the presidency to two terms and reintroduce judicial supervision over the electoral process. What's more, it calls for the nullification of all laws that contravene Islamic Law. The second section of the MB's program focuses on the need to address soaring costs of living, poverty, unemployment and poor conditions faced by Egyptian laborers and farmers. It also stresses the need to address Egypt's rising number of street children and improve the situation currently faced by Egyptian pensioners. In the third part of the program, the MB declares that it will strive to achieve significant development in several areas, including human resources, construction, industrial production and the economy. It also calls for increased funding for pre-university education and stepped-up focus on technical education, along with the adoption of a system to ensure the independence of universities. The MB program further calls for greater financial allocations to the public health sector, the expansion of health insurance coverage, and the provision of all hospitals with the latest medical technology. In the fourth part of the program, the group stresses the need for Egypt to play a "supportive" role in the Palestinian issue and resist all forms of economic, political and security cooperation with Israel and abolish all agreements with the self-proclaimed Jewish state. It also calls for the election--rather than appointment--of Al-Azhar's Grand Sheikh, and for the support of the Coptic Church's traditional role in building social values and ethics. Finally, the program calls for promoting constructive dialogue between the church on one hand and Al-Azhar and other civilian Islamic institutions on the other with a view toward maintaining national cohesion.
