CAIRO: Four detained members of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) said they will run in the upcoming local council elections from behind bars, according to a press statement sent to Daily News Egypt. Ahmed Ramy - also a high board member of the Pharmacists' Syndicate - Gad Mohamed Gad, Mohamed Saad Mansour and Khaled Abdel Baky Al-Toukhy said they will run in the elections despite their detainment, a decision they made public through a press statement filed from the prosecutor's office in New Cairo, where they are being held. However, MB lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsoud, told Daily News Egypt that none of the detained members have completed the paperwork required to declare candidacy. He said their paperwork is held up because the Attorney General is yet to provide them with the nomination forms and their criminal records, which they need in order to fill out the forms. Abdel Maqsoud filed a request with the Attorney General's office asking for the detained members' criminal records as well as for permission to send their nomination forms to the New Nozha and Ain Shams police stations, which is where forms for the Heliopolis and Nasr City districts are collected. According to another press statement sent by Mohamed Habib, the MB's deputy leader, the detained members "insist on running in the elections because it is a constitutional right for any Egyptian citizen. Habib added that their determination to run also stems from their desire to participate in the country's "civil and democratic development as well as to confront the corruption that is spreading among the local councils. Habib said that in the past two weeks, the total number of detained MB members has increased from 440 to 705. According to Abdel Maqsoud, 682 of the 705 detained members planned to run in the elections. "It is legal for anyone to run in elections as long as they have never been sentenced by a court or accused of dishonorable conduct, he said. Abdel Maqsoud explained that when the members officially declare candidacy, the law also enables them to supervise their election campaigns and have representatives give public speeches on their behalf. According to Abdel Maqsoud, prisoners have the right to vote in the local council elections, which will start on April 8.
