Youm7 Dr. Imad Abdul Ghafour, head of the Salafi al-Nour Party, told Youm7 in exclusive statements that he expects his party get 10 to 15 percent of the seats Egypt's upcoming parliamentary elections. He expects to win 50 percent of the seats in Alexandria. He said Islamic trends may win more than 50 percent of parliament seats. Ghafour said the relationship between al-Nour Party and the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Freedom and Justice Party depends on respect and cooperation. He added that it is difficult for al-Nour to ally with left-wing or liberal coalitions because they completely disagree with al-Nour's ideals. However, he said it is possible to cooperate with them in political alliances. Ghafour said there are 40 Coptic Christian members in al-Nour Party. Al-Ahram Al-Wasat Party Chairman Abu al-Ela Mady said during an interview that the constitutional principals document indicates that Egypt's ruling military council has no intention of slowing down the process of delivering authority. However, they did not announce a specific date for handing over rule to civilians, or even a date for presidential elections. Mady said the army should stay away from politics, announce a date for handing over power to a civilian government and hold presidential elections in April 2012 at the latest. Mady saif the Tunisian election model cannot be repeated in Egypt, even though the general mood of the Egyptian and Tunisian people is similar. In Tunisia, there is only one Islamic trend, whereas in Egypt there are many. All Islamic parties in Egypt will get a share in the final figure of elections, he said, and all of them combined could get 45 percent of the seats but no single one of them will get 45 alone. The rest of the seats will go to other trends, public figures and remnants of the former regime. Al-Masry Al-Youm Egyptian scientist Farouk el-Baz said Egypt is losing 30,000 acres of agricultural land around the Nile Delta due to building encroachments. He also warned that if the situation continues as it is, agriculture land will be zero after 183 years. El-Baz said Egypt has a better chance than India to fight wheat shortage, because Egypt imports only half of its needs and has sufficiency in many resources. "We must honor the farmer, because if farmers leave the land, Egypt's civilization will collapse," said el-Baz. Al-Shorouq Mohamed Hassan, deputy director of the state council and chairman of the chamber to follow-up electoral appeals, said in an interview that Egyptians abroad can vote in elections after Article 12 of the political rights law is cancelled. Hassan denied that the administrative judiciary issued any conflicting rules regarding the electoral process. He said the Administrative Court enfranchised Egyptians abroad for parliamentary elections, whatever their place is. The rule does not differentiate between their presence in an enemy country, such as Israel, or a non-hostile state. The Supreme Electoral Committee will determine the mechanisms of voting in all countries. Al-Gomhorreya Minister of Education Ahmed Gamal el-Din Moussa said in remarks to the newspaper that mid-semester exams will be held on time. He denied rumors among students, teachers and parents that mid-semester exams would replace the final exam of the semester.
