MEMBERS of the banned Muslim Brotherhood group have recently announced that they intend to nominate a number of their members to run in the Shura Council (the Upper House of the Egyptian Parliament) elections that will be held next June. This seems to be a challenge to the Government, which has arrested members of the movement, who are planning to run in the elections. The Government has also broken up public protests in which the Brotherhood members have taken part. In the 2005 parliamentary elections, held two months after the country's first ever multi-candidate presidential election, won by President Hosni Mubarak, the Brotherhood won a fifth of parliamentary seats. In the 2005 parliamentary elections, the Brotherhood ran over 150independent candidates. This time round, it has been reported that the group has decided not to field candidates in certain constituencies, while Brotherhood sources say that the security services have put pressure on their candidates not to mention the group's name or their slogan. Mohamed Saad el-Katatni, who is responsible for parliamentary affairs in the Brotherhood, says that the outlawed group will compete for only 20 per cent of the seats in the mid-term Shura Council elections. “The Shura Council is a consultative body, which studies draft laws without issuing decisions ��" that is the task of the People's Assembly,” explains el-Katatni, who has called for all opposition parties to participate in the Shura Council polls. He added in press remarks that the Brotherhood hoped that the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) allowed the elections to be conducted fairly. Former co-ordinator of the Kifaya (Enough) movement, George Ishaq, says that no one can predict what the Brotherhood might be planning, as it has a special agenda. “It announces part of its agenda but not the rest, which means their position is an ambiguous one,” he adds. According to Ishaq, the Brotherhood has the right to contest the elections, but, if there is fraud, none of the opposition parties will gain any seats in the next Shura Council and People's Assembly elections. Ihab el-Kholi, head of the opposition Ghad (Tomorrow) Party, says that the Brotherhood is the only group able to compete with the NDP in the Shura Council polls. He doubts that the forthcoming elections will be transparent.
