CAIRO: Ten opposition parties and groups from across the Egyptian political spectrum officially announced on Saturday boycotting the parliamentary elections in November, saying the regime left them with no other option. “Our decision is the right one because we are not in a position to discuss the advantages of participating or boycotting the elections … there are no elections but rather a prearranged plot that will overshadow any previous elections,” said Abdel-Halim Qandil, the general coordinator of the Kefaya Movement for Change. “It's untrue that we are a minority; we comprise political groups from the four major factions in Egypt — Liberal, Marxist, Leftist and Islamic … and, above all, [citizens] who had already decided to boycott the elections — according to figures — since the constitutional amendments in 2007,” Qandil added. Qandil argued that many members of the groups and parties that decided to participate in the elections support the boycott. He said that these groups will ultimately boycott the elections “after they discover what happens during the elections.” Representatives of Kefaya, the National Association for Change (NAC), El-Ghad Party, the Democratic Front Party, the still unregistered Al Karama Party, the El-A'mal (Labor) Party, and the Socialist Revolutionist Party spoke at the press conference which was held at the Labor Party's headquarters. They stressed that they don't intend to attack those who decide to participate or question their patriotism. They also criticized the recent crackdown on the media that “aims to oppress freedom of expression,” saying that it's a prelude to what will happen in the elections. “It seems that Egyptians will get their news from foreign media as they used to in the past, due to the challenges the local media is facing from the authorities,” said Hamdy Qandil, NAC spokesperson. Hamdy Qandil announced that a group of “independent” media practitioners will soon issue a newspaper owned by the public through an initial public offering, which would free it from the control of the state or wealthy businessmen. Hamdy Qandil said that offering advice to the current regime through the media has failed. Initiating change through elections is no longer viable after the 2007 constitutional amendments eliminated judicial supervision over elections, he added. As a result, the public is left with no other option to bring about change; civil disobedience is the only choice left, according to the NAC spokesperson. “Egypt stands at crossroads, and the situation today can't be compared to anything in the past,” said Osama Al-Ghazali Harb, the head of the Democratic Front Party. “The question isn't about the future of the Parliament but rather the future of Egypt … at any given moment we will either fall prey to chaos or to a military regime. Political powers must unify their stances and efforts to be able to face what the future holds. Participants at the press conference said that the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) will be the biggest loser in the elections and that they “will not win any seats” since the regime wants to prove to western governments that the group has no public support. “The MB will discover the plot and will join us. They will not win any seats as desired by the regime,” Abdel-Halim Qandil said. The Muslim Brotherhood, which currently holds 88 seats making it the largest opposition bloc at the parliament, said it'll be fielding candidates to compete for 30 percent of the seats. Abdel-Halim Qandil announced plans of creating an alternative parliament composed of 500 public figures. This parallel, alternative regime would rule for two transitional years and would eventually introduce a new constitution, he added.
