As parliamentary elections approach, experts agree the Wafd Party is poised to win the largest number of seats within Egypt's political opposition, replacing the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as the largest opposition bloc in parliament. It remains unclear, however, precisely how many seats the party will secure. During an interview with Al-Arabiya news channel, Wafd President Sayyed al-Badawy said the party has no less than 80 or 90 candidates capable of securing seats in upcoming parliamentary elections, reports state-run Rose al-Youssef. At the same time, however, Amr al-Shubaki, a researcher at the Ahram Center for Strategic Studies, estimates that the party will win around 30 seats, followed by the MB with 19 seats, reports the privately-owned weekly Youm 7. Osama al-Ghazali Harb, head of the boycotting Democratic Front Party, says the Wafd will win more than 30 seats in return for its decision to participate, according to Youm 7. Member of the National Council for Human Rights Hafez Abu Seeda estimates that the Wafd Party will win 20-25 seats. Wafd will be competing in more than 90 percent of the districts, according to privately-owned Al-Shorouk. Two hundred and ten candidates will be running on its main slate, while 12 independents will run according to party principles. In recent weeks, several Wafd candidates have voiced concern over the NDP's handling of the poll. Running in the district of Manakh and Zuhur in Port Said, Mohamed Shardi argues that the opposition and the Wafd Party need full support in all district residents in order to combat the false claims of the NDP, reports privately-owned Al-Dostour. Youm 7 adds that Shardi is facing wealthy NDP competitors in the district, including Ibrahim Nour, who spent more than LE5 million on his electoral campaign. There were also rumors that Nour resorted to thugs to lead his campaign and buy votes through a voting card collection campaign. Al-Wafd, published by the liberal Wafd Party, reports that the NDP has employed thugs and other sympathizers to remove Wafd campaign posters, after the ruling party failed to garner greater popular support than Wafd. In Shubra, NDP-hired thugs removed posters belonging to Wafd candidate Rami Lakah and replaced them with posters belonging to NDP candidates. Thugs also destroyed posters belonging to Wafd Party candidates in Qasr al-Nil, and Sharabiya. In Sharqiya Governorate, Wafd Party candidate Gamal Qassem was attacked and his life was threatened by thugs in front of the court of administrative justice. In Daqahliya Governorate, thugs interrupted a march organized by Wafd Party candidate Diaa Ali Atiya, beating some of his supporters with wooden sticks, according to Al-Wafd's report. Finally, Wafd Party president Sayyed al-Badawy announced the formation of a shadow government, headed by vice president Ali al-Silmi, reports Al-Wafd. The shadow government would be charged with following events in Egypt, analyzing national problems and proposing solutions to them. The body will also monitor and evaluate the current government's performance and draft a new constitution that reflects democratic commitment, balance of powers between different branches of government, political pluralism, and demonstrates initiative for lifting the state of emergency. The shadow government includes 29 ministers, including Mostafa al-Tawil as minister of justice, Mounir Fakhri Abdul Nour as minister of economy, Bahaa al-Din Abu Shaqa as minister of legal affairs, Mohammed Kamal as minister of foreign affairs, and Ibrahim Abdul Maguid Saleh as minister of social solidarity. Al-Badawy said that the cabinet does not include ministers of defense or interior, nor does it include a minister of information, as some democratic countries have also done away with the position of minister of information. Egypt's papers: Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size Al-Gomhorriya: Daily, state-run Rose el-Youssef: Daily, state-run, close to the National Democratic Party's Policies Secretariat Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Arab Nasserist party Youm7: Weekly, privately owned Sawt el-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
