Political players across Egypt are anticipating the government's decision to extend the state of emergency which expires on 31 May. Emergency Law has been in force since 1981. Independent and opposition MPs usually keep their eyes open around this time of the year and attend sessions preceding the date of expiry of the law, fearing the law will be passed in their absence. MPs from the opposition also tend to unfurl banners and ribbons in parliament to express their rejection of the Emergency Law, as they did in 2006. In the past, Ahmed Ezz, secretary of organization for the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), has held preliminary discussions with party MPs and lunch and dinner banquets at five-star hotels to ensure the party has a unified stance on this issue. Hussein Ibrahim, vice president of the Muslim Brotherhood parliamentary bloc, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that they will request that the names of those who vote for the extension of the state of emergency be called out so that the people may know them. "But we will not withdraw from the session," he added. This year the NDP has announced that there will be new legal guarantees that will be implemented for the first time. Those guarantees were discussed in a meeting last week which brought together the NDP's office authority and representatives from the government, most importantly Minister of Interior Habib el-Adly. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
