The Democratic Front Party has announced it will boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections because of the absence of judicial oversight. In a meeting yesterday, leaders said the party's decision to boycott was due to a lack of confidence that measures would be established to ensure fair elections. Sources in the party's high council said the upcoming elections will be no more than a "wretched play," replete with rigging and thuggery against which the party wants to take a stance. During the meeting, 19 members of the high council, including party chairman Osama el-Ghazali Harb and vice-chair Sakina Fuad, expressed agreement with the boycott decision, whereas ten members were opposed. Margaret Azr, secretary general of the party, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that they will call upon other members of their four-party coalition--including the Nasserist, Wafd, and Tagammu parties--to join the boycott. She expressed hope that a wider boycott would pressure on the regime to ensure fairness in the elections. "The Democratic Front party refuses the idea of election rigging or making backroom deals. We call on all political factions to boycott the elections if such guarantees are not put in place," said Abdel Manam Imam, a member of the high council and secretary general of the party's youth organization. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
