CAIRO: Text messages circulated among the residents of the Heliopolis constituency saying “Protect Heliopolis from former members of the regime…we won't vote from Hisham Soliman, member of the dissolved party's committee,” the message was signed “No Felool.” Soliman, a former member of the dissolved National Democratic Party and the Local Council in the constituency, is competing in the run-offs against Freedom and Justice Party's candidate, Khaled Hassan Abdel Warith. In the first round last week, Soliman, who was supported by the liberal Egyptian Bloc, got 87,707 votes while Abdel Warith got 44,530. It is unknown who exactly is behind this “No Felool” campaign; however a group on Facebook with the same name is signed “Youth of Heliopolis.” The group is calling to “protect the workers seat” and not have “the NDP's old guards represent us in the parliament.” Islamist parties, led by the FJP, made the biggest gains in the first round, fueling concerns about the performance of the liberal parties and whether strict views would dominate the parliament. While FJP is competing against candidates of the ultraconservative Salafi Al-Nour Party in the run-offs many constituencies, its non-Islamist competitors are providing another alternative for other voters. In Heliopolis, Cairo's fourth constituency, residents, the majority of whom had voted for the liberal candidate for the professional seat Amr Hamzawy, were confused who to vote for. Marlyn Atef, 39, had her mind made up to vote for Soliman just so she wouldn't vote for the conservative Abdel Warith, but after hearing that Soliman is a member of the old regime she was hesitant and skeptical. “I want to protect my constituency from the conservatives and from the former members of the NDP but now I can only choose one of these two,” she said before she entered the polling station. Political analyst, Amr Hashem, from Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, described the choices as “the sweeter is sour.” “I predict the more votes will be going to the Islamists if voters are faced with a choice between them and former NDP members,” he said.
