Chairman of the Supreme Electoral Commission Intisar Nasim said the Ministry of Justice will not intervene in the process to determine which members of the judiciary will serve on the general electoral councils and the electoral subcommittees which will supervise the upcoming Shura Council elections. Only the Supreme Electoral Commission can legally choose the chairperson and members of the councils and subcommittees, said Nasim in a press conference yesterday. Seven hundred judges will be chosen to head the general electoral councils, and 25,000 state employees will be chosen to serve as chairpersons and members of the electoral subcommittees. Nasim urged the Interior Ministry and the security directorates to approve all the candidates running for election and to leave the final candidacy decisions to the relevant committees which are led by members of the judiciary. The Supreme Electoral Commission will allow Egyptian civil society organizations, as well as authorized Arab and foreign representatives to monitor the election process during both the voting and vote tallying stages. In related news, the Muslim Brotherhood officially announced yesterday that it will nominate 14 candidates in 11 governorates as candidates for the Shura Council elections. Among these candidates, three are currently members of the People's Assembly. The Brotherhood reaffirmed that "Islam is the solution" is the motto for the candidates. This announcement comes in the midst of a sit-in demonstration held by members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Alexandria. The members, in their second day demonstrating, are protesting the government's refusal to accept the nomination of Brotherhood member Ali Barakat as a candidate for the Shura Council elections. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
