People in the street are divided over whether to take part in the polls scheduled to start on April 22 or boycott them. Those in favour of participation see it is a good step in the right direction, but others regard the next House of Deputies (HD) as unconstitutional like the previous one (the Peoople's Assembly), which the Supreme Constitutional Court dissolved on legal technicalities. "How can the first parliamentary elections under a democratically elected president be held without the participation of the opposition, political parties and revolutionary powers?" Mahmoud el-Sayyad, a senior English teacher at a governmental school, wondered. "And why the rush to hold the polls when the nation is very unstable and tense, with some cities and even governorates holding civil disobedience," he went on to say. "I will cast my ballot in the next elections to guarantee that my vote won't be rigged," Reda Abdul Khaleq, a professor at Al-Azhar University's Faculty of Pharmacy, said. “There is simply no justification for the opposition to boycott elections unless they are really worried about the world finding out the truth of their popularity on the ground," Abdul Khaleq told The Egyptian Gazette. Ashraf Hussein, an assistant researcher at the Faculty of Fine Arts, said: “I would boycott the next parliamentary polls as there is no spirit of competition among political parties since the National Salvation Front and nearly all other political parties announced they will not field any candidates in the next elections." "In addition, the results of the polls will be for the good of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the ultra-conservative Salafist Al-Nour Party, the only two parties which announced their participation in the polls," Hussein added. Mohamed Hussein, a pharmacist at a leading pharmaceutical company, said: “I don't really like the National Salvation Front to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections. In doing so, they leave the battle uncontested for the Muslim Brothers and offer them victory on a silver platter." Meanwhile, Ibrahim Darwish, a leading constitutional jurist, said in a recent statement to Al-Hayat satellite channel that all national dialogues the presidency called for came after making decisions and enacting laws, not vice-versa. "The national dialogue should initially be based on discussing the controversial issues and agreeing on the main points, then making the decisions. Hence, I see that the next parliament will be void of legality as the system of constituencies approved in the election law is totally defective," Darwish stated. "I am not going to cast my vote in a process only aimed at giving legitimacy to a regime that proves day after day it is not capable of running this country," said 35-year-old Samah Hussein, who works for a tourist company. She added that fair elections can't take place while loyalists of the Muslim Brotherhood, who argue they are not biased, occupy key positions in the Government. Blogger Mahmoud Salem said a boycott would result in a parliament dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, ultra-conservative Salafists, and former members of Hosni Mubarak's government. "I think the polls should take place under ‘complete judicial supervision' and be monitored by Egyptian and foreign civil societies and human rights groups," said a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, speaking on condition of anonymity. Criticising the boycott of the upcoming elections by the National Salvation Front coalition (leftist, liberal, and socialist parties), he said running away from a popular test only means that some people want to assume executive authority without a democratic mandate. It is worth mentioning that under the country's 1971 constitution, the Parliament has the capacity to enact laws; approve the general policy of the state; the general plan for economic and social development and the general budget, supervise the work of the Government, and have the power to vote to impeach the President of the Republic or replace the Government and its Prime Minister by a vote of no-confidence.
