CAIRO: Members of Egypt's Coptic community called for voting against the National Democratic Party (NDP) in the upcoming parliamentary elections after the party named only 10 Copts on its list of nominees. Copts also criticized the NDP's nomination of Qena MP Abdel Rehim El-Ghoul who was rumored to be connected with the Nagaa Hammadi shooting of six Christians and one Muslim guard outside a church last January. Many Copts filed complaints to the Prosecutor General against El-Ghoul, accusing him of “inciting the suspects to commit the crime.” No charges were pressed against him. High profile Coptic figures saw the nomination of El-Ghoul as an insult to the community. Head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights and Coptic lawyer Naguib Gobrael urged Copts to vote "for those who really represent the people and solve citizenship issues." Gobrael said in a statement on Monday that Copts were disappointed after discovering that only 10 Copts will run as NDP candidates in the coming PA elections, totaling 1.2 percent of the overall NDP candidates. "Millions of Copts were disappointed to see the shallow representation of Copts on the NDP's list," the statement read. "The nomination of only 10 candidates proves that the party broke its promises to represent Copts in parliament," Gobrael told Daily News Egypt. "The party also renominated MP El-Ghoul whose name was connected to the Nagaa Hammadi carnage, and who we accused of inciting the suspects, which aggravates Copts," he added. He pointed out that this will force Copts to vote for opposition candidates over the NDP. Lawyer of the Orthodox Church Ramses El-Naggar sees the nomination of only 10 candidates a "political issue.” "The problem is not only with the NDP, but also with opposition parties who do the same thing, so all we can hope for is to have the 10 candidates win the elections," El-Naggar told Daily News Egypt. He added that the nomination of El-Ghoul was "a shock to the Egyptian public opinion, both Muslims and Christians." Coordinator of Secular Copts group, Kamal Zakher, said the nomination of 10 candidates "reflects the party's lack of concern of Copts and their problems. "It is no surprise, because all signs show that the party is not concerned with solving the Copts' problems or problems of citizenship, but rather it is governed by political calculations that have nothing to do with Copts," Zakher told Daily News Egypt. "The party is concerned with street blocs and a mere desire to control the next parliament," he added. "The state allowed demonstrations of Islamic fundamentalists insulting the Pope, so it is not surprising to nominate an MP who is connected to [the Nagaa Hammadi shootings]." Zakher said that the party's stance towards Copts will have consequences during the PA elections. "Copts are not one organized electoral bloc to take one voting decision, so the reactions will be personal to vote against the ruling party candidates, while many will be more isolated and boycott the elections," he said.
