Egypt: The Brotherhood Vote
November 24th, 2010 by Evan
In a new article in The Daily News Egypt, Khalil Al-Anani analyzes the Muslim Brotherhood’s electorate. According to Al-Anani, there are three broad categories of potential Brotherhood voters: (1) those who are committed to the organization’s religious and political ideology and pay membership dues; (2) those who are sympathetic to its religious views and benefit from its social subsidies but do not formally participate in its activities; and (3) protest voters who want to vote against the ruling National Democratic Party. This year, the Brotherhood faces many challenges getting these voters to the polls, Al-Anani writes: “In many constituencies, the group will not be able to mobilize its regular electorate as it used to,” Al-Anani writes.
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
Egypt: Will Parliamentary Elections Influence the 2011 Presidential Race?
November 24th, 2010 by Evan
Issandr El Amrani recently authored a piece for the International Relations and Security Network’s (ISN) Insights series on the process, outcome, and potential effect of the upcoming Egyptian parliamentary elections. The constitutional amendments passed in 2007, voter apathy, and the weakness of Egyptian opposition parties mean that there is “no great suspense about the outcome,” El Amrani writes. The real significance of the elections, according to El Amrani, will be their effect on the 2011 Egyptian presidential election: “The regime may desire as tame a parliament as possible during this transition, and seats at the People’s Assembly will afford parties and individuals some room for negotiation during this delicate time […] the presence of strong opposition voices inside and outside formal structures like parliament, even if limited, could influence the direction of the new regime and force it to take into account the growing number of voices seeking real change.”
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
Egypt: NDP Accuses Brotherhood of Stealing Platform, Sparking Violence
November 23rd, 2010 by Evan
Tension between the Muslim Brotherhood and the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) continues to grow following the recent arrests of Brotherhood members and parliamentary candidates. Al Masry Al Youm reports that on Tuesday, NDP Secretary Ahmed Ezz said that the Brotherhood is trying to “steal” NDP’s achievements and Ali Eddin Helal, NDP Information Secretary, accused the Brotherhood of inciting violence. In The Guardian, Jack Shenker reports that while Brotherhood candidates have no delusions about the likely outcome of the parliamentary elections, they are campaigning enthusiastically and believe that the upcoming election will strengthen their hand ahead of the 2011 presidential election.
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
Egypt: Brotherhood Expected to Lose Seats
November 23rd, 2010 by Jason
In an article in Al Masry Al Youm, Noha El-Hennawy says that the Muslim Brotherhood is expected to suffer a “remarkable retreat” in Sunday’s election and will likely be replaced with the liberal Wafd party. As El-Hennawy explains, the unprecedented success of the Brotherhood in 2005, when the outlawed group won 88 seats with members running as independents, has lead the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) to crackdown on the party. Wafd party looks to be in the best position to capitalize on this turn of events, although Mohamed Sherdy, the Wafd Party’s official spokesman, seems less optimistic: “‘I was pro-election and pro-participation but if we could go back in time, I think we should really reconsider it […] I do not think they (the government) want anybody from the opposition, they are chocking (sic) the opposition.’”
Also, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy released an audio recording of a Policy Forum held yesterday on the Egyptian elections and U.S. policy towards Egypt. The discussants included Dina Guirguis, a Keston Family research fellow with the Washington Institute’s Project Fikra, David Schenker, the Aufzien fellow and director of the Program on Arab Politics at the Washington Institute, and Leslie Campbell, a senior associate and regional director of the National Democratic Institute’s (NDI) Middle East and North Africa division.
Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties, US foreign policy | Comment »
Egypt: Rhetoric Heats Up as Election Nears
November 22nd, 2010 by Jason
U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Margret Scobey recently “reiterated American interest in transparent Egyptian parliamentary elections,” according to a report by Al Masry Al Youm. The Ambassador also “stressed the importance of local election oversight based on international standards, accompanied by international monitors.” Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif was quoted today insisting that “‘Egypt is capable of monitoring the upcoming polls to prove to the entire world we are able to manage completely impartial elections.’” Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Saad el-Katatni told reporters at a press conference that “‘[w]hat is happening right now is the actual rigging of the vote […] The regime is sending a message that there will be no election.’”
Anwar Esmat Sadat, son of the former president and an independent candidate for parliament, also released a statement today claiming that the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) has taken “illegal actions” and used “tricks” to change his status from “Farmers’ Seat” to “Categories” thus making him ineligible to run for the seat that he currently holds. Sadat goes on to say “Egypt’s citizens were promised a fair, equal, and transparent election. I thought that it would be a fair and just election based on the assurances of the President himself. Despite hardships, I tried to act positively and to ignore the voices calling to boycott the elections. However, this corruption shows that it is clear that the government is willing to exclude me from the Council, likely because I did not agree with their decisions simply in order to satisfy them.”
Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
Egypt: Widespread Arrests Stifle Campaigns
November 22nd, 2010 by Evan
Over 1,200 Muslim Brotherhood members, including eight nominees for the upcoming election, were arrested Friday and Saturday following a series of violent clashes with police at campaign rallies across the country. Representatives of the Brotherhood reported members were detained in 22 provinces, with the largest number of arrests occurring in Sharqiya and Alexandria. “The regime is sending a message that there will be no election,” said Saad el-Katatni, the head of the Muslim Brotherhood parliamentary bloc. In a new article for Al Jazeera, Evan Hill describes challenges facing the Brotherhood and the organization’s tenuous relations with proponents of democracy in the West, while Amro Hassan and Jeffrey Fleishman document internal rifts between conservatives and reformists and the effect of increased government pressure on the organization.
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Human Rights, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
POMED Notes: “Egypt’s Political Future: The Parliamentary Elections and Beyond”
November 18th, 2010 by Jason
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace held an event on Thursday titled “Egypt’s Political Future: The Parliamentary Elections and Beyond.” The speakers for the event were Michele Dunne, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment and editor of the online journal, the Arab Reform Bulletin, and Amr Hamzawy, research director and senior associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. The discussion was moderated by Jennifer Windsor, the associate dean for Programs and Studies at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf)
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Freedom, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, NGOs, Political Parties, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »
Egypt: Divisions Within the Brotherhood
November 16th, 2010 by Jason
Michele Dunne and Amr Hamzawy have a new article describing the internal and external challenges facing the Muslim Brotherhood as the November 28 parliamentary elections approach. The extension of the Emergency Law, the rules against political activity with a “‘religious point of reference,’” and the arrest of numerous members including “[s]enior members and financiers,” have all contributed to a more hostile environment than was present in 2005. However, the authors identify the “vanishing internal consensus” within the Brotherhood as the “more serious” threat. Arguments in favor of electoral participation “have lost much of their credibility due to the lack of tangible progress made by Brotherhood deputies from 2005 to 2010.” As a result, a group calling themselves “‘Muslim Brotherhood reformists’” has formed and advocated for the separation of the Brotherhoods political and religious activities. Dunne and Hamzawy conclude that “it seems increasingly likely that the Muslim Brotherhood can be expected to make a weaker showing in the upcoming elections than it did in 2005.”
For more on the upcoming elections in Egypt, sign up for POMED’s Egypt Daily Update.
Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
Egypt: Security Forces Arrest Activists from Al Ghad, Brotherhood
November 12th, 2010 by Anna
Al Masry Al Youm reports that two activists campaigning for the opposition Al Ghad party in Cairo were briefly arrested by security forces last night. They were accused of promoting an opposition candidate outside the official campaigning window, which starts next week, and were released after being questioned. The candidate they were promoting, Gamila Ismail, said: “The police are trying to target our campaigners because the regime is afraid of our capacity to mobilize voters.” In addition, 14 Muslim Brotherhood candidates were arrested in Monufiya yesterday. They were displaying posters that included the Brotherhood’s “Islam is the solution” slogan.
Posted in Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties | Comment »
Egypt: Political Opposition Responds to Continued Obstacles
November 8th, 2010 by Anna
Yesterday, Al Masry Al Youm reported that Mohamed ElBaradei has accused Egyptian officials of wiretapping the office of his campaign’s general coordinator. On his Facebook page, ElBaradei wrote that he will “request an investigation into this scandal which has attacked the rule of law and violated the personal privacy of citizens,” adding that this is further indication of the regime’s “insistence on oppression and on dispersing opposition voices and the demand for democratization.”
On Saturday, the Muslim Brotherhood held a series of protests in Alexandria, following the reported rejection of some members’ registration papers last week. Observers said that violence broke out in some neighborhoods between demonstrators and security forces. Also on Saturday, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that all political parties must be allowed broadcasting time on state television in order to publicize their platforms.
Posted in Egypt, Judiciary, Middle Eastern Media, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties, Protests | Comment »
Jordan: BBC’s Guide to the Election
November 5th, 2010 by Evan
The BBC recently published a new guide to the upcoming Jordanian parliamentary elections. The author writes that while the actual voting process is likely to be fair, Jordanian authorities have ensured that pro-government candidates will win by weighting the electoral system in favor of rural areas dominated by Jordanian tribes and Bedouin who are loyal to King Abdullah.
Posted in Elections, Jordan, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood Candidates Face Registration Obstacles
November 4th, 2010 by Evan
Al Jazeera reports that Egyptian security officials rejected registration applications from a group of Muslim Brotherhood candidates on Wednesday. Of the 132 applications members filed at police stations across the country, over 35% were thrown out by officials. The candidates will have a chance to resubmit their applications before the November 5 deadline, but Muslim Brotherhood leaders expressed concern that authorities will continue to use Egypt’s complex registration system to limit the number of Brotherhood candidates participating in the election: “‘It is just another way to impede the electoral process, to prevent nominees from exercising their right to run. The papers of those who are unfavourable to the state then disappear,’” Sayid Gadallah, a lawyer and Brotherhood candidate, told Al Jazeera.
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Judiciary, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
Egypt: Brotherhood Pushes to Keep Slogan, Announces Social Justice Agenda
October 29th, 2010 by Anna
Al Masry Al Youm reports today that the Muslim Brotherhood is urging the High Elections Commission to uphold a court order allowing the campaign slogan “Islam is the Solution.” In The Brotherhood’s Opinion, a weekly post by the group, the Brotherhood criticizes the regime’s arrests of group members and calls on the government to treat all candidates fairly. Saad al-Katatni, a Brotherhood spokesman, also asserts that the High Elections Commission “must take a neutral stance as it is not an affiliate of the NDP.”
Muslim Brotherhood sources also say that the group will focus on social justice issues in its campaign platform during the upcoming parliamentary elections. The specific election program – which outlines strategies to tackle unemployment, the uneven distribution of wealth in Egypt, women’s issues, Coptic relations, and other social and political challenges – will be released in the coming weeks.
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Islam and Democracy, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam | Comment »
Egypt: The “Boycott-Participation Divide” and International Monitors
October 25th, 2010 by Jason
In a piece published in Al Majalla, Amr Hamzawy and Michele Dunne describe the ongoing debate within and between Egyptian opposition groups about the “boycott-participation divide” and the necessity of international election monitors. The Muslim Brotherhood, the Wafd Party, and Tagammu have chosen to stand for election, while the Ghad Party, the National Democratic Front Party, and the National Association for Change (NAC, led by Mohamed ElBaradei) have chosen to boycott. “The boycott-participation divide speaks to the fundamental challenges and limited opportunities that the opposition has faced during Mubarak’s presidency,” Hamzawy and Dunne say.
The international monitor issue has also caused rifts within the opposition community. A number of groups are in favor of the monitors, including the Muslim Brotherhood and the NAC. The parties that have rejected international monitors on the grounds that they represent “an intervention in Egyptian affairs,” or are simply “impractical,” are not united on the subject themselves, with some of their members speaking out publicly in favor of the monitors. This increasing support for observers, according to Hamzawy and Dunne, reflects “the growing tendency within opposition movements, as well as a broad sector of the Egyptian public, to favor international monitoring as a safeguard against electoral fraud.”
Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties | Comment »
Jordan: HRW Criticizes Limits on Freedom of Expression
October 22nd, 2010 by Evan
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
called on Jordanian authorities to respect its citizens’ rights to free expression in the run up to the November 9 parliamentary election. In response to a recent crackdown on youth activists campaigning for an opposition boycott and censorship of news about the prime minister,
Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at HRW, said “Jordanian authorities are trying to delegitimize the opposition, but instead they are delegitimizing the elections. […] These recent incidents of censorship and arrests of critics cast doubt on the open contest of ideas necessary for the ‘transparent and fair’ elections King Abudullah promised.”
Posted in Elections, Jordan, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
Jordan: Brotherhood Boycott Holds
October 21st, 2010 by Evan
At the Carnegie Endowment’s Arab Reform Bulletin,
Muhammad Abu Rumman explains the Muslim Brotherhood’s boycott of the upcoming Jordanian parliamentary elections and the government’s attempts to get them to run. Initially the Brotherhood’s leadership was divided on the issue, so they turned to their member who overwhelmingly supported the boycott, Rumman reports. The Jordanian government worked assiduously to get the Brotherhood to participate in an attempt to legitimize the elections, but ultimately failed. According to Rumman, without Brotherhood participation, election turnout will “go from low to downright dismal, particularly in the major cities where most voters are of Palestinian origin and tend to favor the Brotherhood.”
Posted in Elections, Jordan, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
Egypt: Election Date Set, MB Leader Interviewed
October 20th, 2010 by Jason
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced today that the parliamentary elections will be held November 28. He also announced that the run-off vote would be held December 5 and the new parliamentary session will begin December 13.
In an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm, Mohamed Saad al-Katatny, head of the Muslim Brotherhood parliamentary bloc, said that the group plans to continue the use of the slogan “Islam is the Solution” in spite of pressure from the Egyptian government. When asked by the interviewer if he thought election monitoring was necessary, al-Katatny responded “If the regime intends to have fair elections, it will allow the international community or civil society to monitor. Preventing monitoring means there’s an intention to rig elections.” Al-Katatny was also asked if the Brotherhood planned on fielding a candidate for president, to which he answered “No.”
Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Islam and Democracy, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
Egypt: Government Pressure on Divided Brotherhood Increases
October 12th, 2010 by Evan
Yesterday, Egyptian security services reportedly urged 70 Muslim Brotherhood candidates to drop out of the election. According to Helmy al-Gazzar, a Brotherhood municipal representative, the agents “attempted to intimidate” the candidates. The group is still split over the decision to participate in the upcoming elections – proponents of a boycott say that the Brotherhood’s Guidance Bureau is not a legitimate voice for the group, while those who support participation claim that the pro-boycott faction is not part of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
Egypt: Campaign Spending Capped
October 12th, 2010 by thomas.ellison
Al-Masry Al-Youm reported Sunday that Egypt’s Supreme Elections Committee has capped campaign spending for new parliamentary candidates at 200,000 Egyptian pounds. For incumbents, the limit is 100,000 pounds. National Democratic Party MP Hisham Khalil said that the amount is “sufficient,” but called for close monitoring of campaign spending. On a similar note, Secretary-General of the Wafd Party Mounir Fakhri Abdel Nour asserted that it is more important for campaign spending to be monitored than capped, citing previous violations of spending limits. Ahmed Hassan, Secretary-General of the pan-Arab Nasserist Party, said that citizens’ votes have become a commodity and that large campaign expenditures have been detrimental to Egyptian politics.
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
Egypt: Brotherhood will Contest 30% of Parliament
October 11th, 2010 by Anna
On Saturday, the Muslim Brotherhood announced that it will contest up to 30% of the parliamentary seats available in the upcoming elections, fielding as many candidates as it did in 2005. The group will also field up to 15 female candidates. Mohammed Badie, the group’s leader, said that the Brotherhood decided to participate in order to expose vote rigging, among other reasons. He has called on the regime “to show the maximum degree of responsibility in running the election process … and to realize that any flaws marring these parliamentary elections will cast their shadow over every future election.” On Sunday, Khaled Dawood – a leader of the internal opposition front within the Muslim Brotherhood – challenged Badie’s statement that a large majority of Brotherhood members supported the decision to participate in elections. He asserted that “the group never conducted any internal opinion polls on the issue.” The same day, Al Masry Al Youm reported that ten Muslim Brotherhood members were arrested in Dakahlia on charges of “promoting the principles of a banned group, disturbing public security and possessing fliers containing ideas that could endanger social harmony and security.”
In Cairo over the weekend, Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Democracy Michael Posner pushed for international monitoring of the elections, saying: “It is the position of the United States government that … both national Egyptian observers and monitors as well as international observers ought to be allowed to participate and to observe the scene.”
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
