CAIRO: Al-Wafd party is taking legal action against Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper for what it considers the publication of false information regarding reports of the opposition party striking a covert deal with the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) to secure seats in the next parliamentary elections. Head of Al-Wafd Mahmoud Abaza told satellite television program "90 Minutes that he had submitted a complaint to the Prosecutor General against the newspaper over the report, the content of which he denied completely. The newspaper had reported that a secret deal had been struck between the NDP and opposition parties, chief among them Al-Wafd, to divide the current Muslim Brotherhood seats in parliament between them in the legislative elections due to take place in October. This was in exchange for Al-Wafd and the other opposition parties to not offer any support for the presidential ambitions of former IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei. Al-Wafd party member Baha Abushiqa told Al-Musawwar magazine Wednesday "what was attributed to Al-Wafd offends its history and patriotism and added that the purpose of the complaint was to discover the source of the story and the hidden agenda behind it. Al-Masry Al-Youm had reported details of the alleged deal, stating that Al-Wafd would have received 23 seats in the PA in exchange for offering no support for ElBaradei. These seats would be from those currently held by Brotherhood MPs. Abushiqa added that the 23 individual members of the party who had been named in the story would also file complaints against the newspaper and the reporter with the Prosecutor General. The NDP had also denied insinuations that it had cut such a deal. "The NDP does not make deals with any opposition parties, NDP MP Mohamed Khalil Kwaiteh previously told Daily News Egypt, "there are elections and these parties must take their agenda to the people and see if it resonates with them. The Brotherhood holds 88 seats in the current round of parliament as independents, which allegedly would have been divided up between Al-Wafd, the Tagammu and Nasserist parties among others. Al-Shorouk newspaper had quoted an unnamed senior NDP refuting claims that a deal had been struck with Al-Wafd party to coordinate efforts in the next elections, saying the NDP "does not fear anyone and does not make deals for individuals.
