Egypt's parliamentary elections runoff;
Mubarak likely winner
======================================================
CAIRO: Amid a boycott of elections by two main opposition parties over alleged fraud and rigging, Egypt today held parliamentary runoffs that are likely to hand over victory to the party of President Hosni Mubarak who has been in power for the last 29 years.
The reruns come a week after the main elections which saw the ruling National Democratic Party win over 90% of the seats amid accusations from political parties, independent candidates and civil society organisations of fraud and rigging.
Egyptians are voting in parliamentary runoff elections to choose 283 Members of Parliament.
After the first round the banned Muslim Brotherhood MB group and the Liberal Wafd- the two largest opposition groups - announced they were boycotting the elections in protest.
The boycott was reminiscent of the call by former IAEA chief Muhammad al-Baradi for parties to boycott the elections and "not participate in the play the ruling party is producing to fool the world".
At the moment the Al-Wafd party has already won two seats. Both the Brotherhood and the other key opposition group, the liberal Wafd party, boycotted today's polls.
Due to the boycott, the contest now pit rival candidates from Mubarak's National Democratic Party against each other. It will ensure a parliament almost entirely made up of the ruling party, with a few seats going to independents and smaller parties.
"NDP versus NDP," said the headline in the Wafd party's newspaper.
Mubarak, 82, is the fourth and current President of the Arab Republic of Egypt. He was appointed Vice-President in 1975, and assumed the Presidency on October 14, 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar el-Sadat.
Such an outcome could backfire for Egypt's regime, eliminating any outward appearance of a fair vote and depriving them of any democratic legitimacy.
The Obama administration said it was disappointed by widespread reports of irregularities in the first round that cast doubt on the credibility of the polls in the strong US ally.
The country's largest and best organised opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, controlled a fifth of the outgoing parliament. It failed to win a single seat in the November 28 first round.
The Brotherhood campaigns under the slogan "Islam is the solution" and promotes the creation of a more Islamised society.
It also talks of fighting corruption and heavy bureaucracy and of ending the three-decade emergency law that gives authorities free rein to confront opponents.
(source:the times of india)
=======================================================
No comments:
Post a Comment