The Muslim Brotherhood has called for the dissolution of the newly-formed parliament, saying the election was marred by massive fraud. The Independent Coalition for Elections Observation--made up of rights organizations the Egyptian Association for the Development of Societal Participation, the Cairo Center for Human Rights Studies, and Nazra Association for Feminist Studies--issued similar calls yesterday. Essam al-Eryan, spokesperson for the Muslim Brotherhood, said all political groups in Egypt are awaiting a "wise decision that only President Hosni Mubarak can take, not only as leader of the National Democratic Party (NDP) but as president of the republic." In statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm, al-Eryan said the Brotherhood believes Mubarak should take a decision to re-run the election or dissolve the new parliament. "We're not calling on President Mubarak to intervene" he said. "He can see everything that is going on and he is not waiting for anyone to ask him to intervene. But everyone expects him to intervene after the NDP and the government both put the country in a difficult position." Al-Eryan added that political groups must contemplate the situation and coordinate their efforts for future action. He said the Brotherhood is not opposed to cooperation with other groups. Al-Eryan accused the NDP of falsifying the will of the people, saying the group will refer all the party's crimes to the attorney general. Meanwhile, Saad al-Katatni, a member of the Brotherhood's Guidance Bureau, said political groups have agreed to compile all the court rulings nullifying the election by next week for submission to the concerned authority. Al-Katatni, however, said he does not expect the regime to implement the court rulings, as was the case with previous rulings. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
