CAIRO: The National Democratic Party (NDP) has denied accusations of a secret deal struck with certain opposition parties to divide the Muslim Brotherhood's current parliamentary seats amongst them and to ignore the presidential ambitions of former IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei. Al-Shorouk newspaper quoted an unnamed senior NDP source as refuting claims that a deal had been struck with Al-Wafd party to coordinate efforts during the parliamentary elections set for October, saying the NDP "does not fear anyone and does not make deals for individuals. Al-Quds Al-Araby newspaper had reported that a deal had been struck between the ruling NDP and some of the opposition parties to eliminate the presence of the Muslim Brotherhood in the People's Assembly (PA) and stem support for ElBaradei's presidential bid. "The NDP does not make deals with any opposition parties, NDP MP Mohamed Khalil Kwaiteh told Daily News Egypt, "there are elections and these parties must take their program to the people and see if it resonates with them. The Brotherhood holds 88 seats in the current parliament as independents, which the allegations claim would be divided between Al-Wafd, Tagammu and Nasserist parties amongst others. Al-Masry Al-Youm had reported details of the alleged deal, stating that Al-Wafd would receive 23 seats in the PA in exchange for offering no support for ElBaradei. The opposition parties in question are the same ones that have formed a bloc called The Parties of the Democratic Coalition removed from ElBaradei's National Coalition for Change, which he formed with the majority of Egypt's opposition movements, including the Brotherhood and the Kefaya Movement for Change. The three parties, along with the Democratic Front party, held a two-day conference which ended Sunday to discuss the future of Egyptian politics and the chances o making constitutional amendments. The four parties threatened to boycott all the upcoming elections if their demands were not met, specifically amending articles, 76, 77 and 88 of the Egyptian constitution that govern the eligibility of presidential candidates and judicial oversight of elections. The closing statement from the conference also called for a two-term limit on the presidency and the cancellation of the emergency law. It did not mention ElBaradei or his bid. These demands are similar to those proffered by ElBaradei and the other members of the National Coalition for Change, which prompted some speculation that this bloc was to directly rival ElBaradei's within the political opposition movement. "The regime is not afraid of ElBaradei to strike deals with the opposition, Kwaiteh said, "he is a citizen who has the right to express his opinion, but what is being reported in some newspapers is not true. However, member of the leftist Tagammu party's general secretariat Ashraf El Hefny previously told Daily News Egypt that they did not reject ElBaradie, but had concerns over his economic policies and his position vis-à-vis Israel. "We want to know his position towards Israel and privatization. It can't just be about replacing [President Hosni] Mubarak with someone else with no change [in policy], he said.
