From: Nowa Omoigui <nowa_o@yahoo.com>
Date: 2 December 2011 07:25
Subject: [OurWorldView] EGYPT: Muslim Brotherhood Takes Elections by Storm
To: defsec@egroups.com
Muslim Brotherhood Takes Elections by Storm
Islamist parties are expected to control Cairo's parliament by the spring with the Muslim Brotherhood projected to be in the driver's seat.
By Gavriel Queenann
First Publish: 12/1/2011, 7:19 PM
Israel news photo: Muslim BrotherhoodJudges overseeing the vote count in Egypt's parliamentary elections say Islamist parties have won a majority of the contested seats in the first round. The judges spoke on condition of anonymity because official results are expected to be released later Thursday.
They say the Muslim Brotherhood could take 45 percent of the seats up for grabs. The liberal Egyptian bloc coalition and the ultra-fundamentalist Nour party are competing for second place.
Together, Islamist parties are expected to control a majority of parliamentary seats by March. This week's vote was the first of six stages of parliamentary elections that will last until then.
Continued success by Islamists will allow them to give Cairo's government and constitution a decidedly Islamist character. It could also lead Cairo to shift away from the West towards the Iranian axis.
It will also diminish the influence of Cairo's caretaker junta, which has sought to maintain the Mubarak-era status quo and keep US foreign aid dollars – running into the billions per annum – flowing.
Analysts say Islamists may also seek to annul the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, which could prompt Israel to seize the Sinai Peninsula for the fourth time in its history to create a strategic buffer zone.
After reaching the Suez Canal in 1967 and controlling the Sinai for twelve years,, Israel ceded Sinai to Egypt under the 1979 treaty on condition it remains demilitarized.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which birthed the virulently anti-Israel Hamas terror militia, might also seek to effectively annex Gaza. Should Hamas be triumphant in future PA elections, they would also gain a foothold in Judea and Samaria.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/150311
---------------
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood says end to military rule is 'top priority'
Leading party in election warns generals they risk further unrest if they defy the people and refuse to relinquish power
Jack Shenker in Cairo
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 1 December 2011 16.28 EST
The Muslim Brotherhood has fired a warning shot at Egypt's ruling generals, declaring that a swift end to military rule is the country's "top priority" as it prepares to take charge of a newly elected parliament.
With provisional election results continuing to emerge, confirming earlier predictions of a strong victory for the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party, the movement's leaders emphasised that now was the time for "consensus not collision" and agreed to work with parties across the political spectrum to advance the revolution and facilitate a smooth transition to civilian government.
In a sign the Brotherhood will not tolerate parliament being treated as a rubber stamp by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf), which has clung to power despite almost two weeks of anti-junta protests and violent street clashes, senior members of the organisation told the Guardian the generals risked further unrest if they defied the people and failed to return to their barracks next year.
"Egypt is currently going through a critical era in its history, and I am confident the military will choose to cooperate with parliament and not confront it – any other path will create more chaos," said Essam al-Arian, vice president of the Freedom and Justice Party.
Amr Darrag, the group's chief in Giza, said a quick and painless handover to civilian rule was the most important issue facing the Arab world's most populous nation at present. "We are going through a transitional phase and we are not yet at the optimum stage of this transition," he argued. "Parliament must be formed, a president must be elected, and power must be transferred to civilian authority. Scaf currently wields executive and legislative power; as soon as parliament convenes the latter must be passed to the institution democratically elected by the Egyptian people."
The comments reveal a shift in rhetoric by the Brotherhood, which has faced heavy criticism by revolutionaries in recent days for refusing to back demonstrations against Scaf which were attacked by security forces, leaving more than 40 dead and thousands injured.
Apparently acknowledging the shifting political sands, Egypt's ruling generals announced on Thursday they would be convening a civilian advisory council to assist Scaf in administering the country during a volatile period.
Officials suggested the council would act as a buffer between protesters and the armed forces and would consist of thirty members, with eight seats allocated to representatives of the 'revolutionary youth'.
But Scaf's credibility has been eroded since it assumed power from Hosni Mubarak in February, as political figureheads – including presidential contenders Abdel Munim, Aboul Fotouh and Hamdeen Sabahi – denounced the proposal and declared they would not be part of it.
"Those who met with the military [to discuss the council] only represent themselves; they are only providing Scaf with a fig-leaf to help it absorb popular anger," Khaled Tellima, a member of the Revolutionary Youth Coalition, told local news outlet Ahram Online. "Our demands are clear: we don't want advisers for the military rulers, we simply want the military rulers to go."
Mamdouh Hamza, a political activist and prominent engineer, claimed he had been offered a place on the new council but had turned it down. Official election results from the first round of voting, which included Egypt's two biggest cities, Cairo and Alexandria, have been pushed back to Friday evening after officials claimed counting was taking longer than expected.
The announcement of results is set to coincide with another anti-Scaf demonstration, after revolutionary forces said they would rally in Tahrir Square to honour the ''martyrs of Mohamed Mahmoud Street" – a reference to the road where fighting took place last week.
----------------
NY Times
December 1, 2011
In Egypt, No Alliance With Ultraconservatives, Islamist Party Says
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
CAIRO — The Muslim Brotherhood's political arm on Thursday distanced itself from a more conservative Islamist party as early vote tallies indicated that the two factions would claim the two largest roles in the first Parliament elected since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.
Responding to reports that the two Islamist parties together could form a majority of the new Parliament, the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party denied that there was any "alleged alliance" with the ultraconservative party, Al Nour, to form "an Islamist government."
The statement appeared to be aimed at quieting the anxiety of Egyptian liberals and Western governments about the unexpectedly large share of the vote apparently won by Al Nour, which was formed by the ultraconservative Islamists known as Salafis. It also reflected the fine line that the Muslim Brotherhood is walking as it tries to hold together its most ardent Islamist supporters in the streets without provoking a backlash at home or internationally.
The Egyptian authorities, citing the record turnout in voting this week, said Thursday that they had postponed by a day the scheduled announcement of official results from the first of three rounds of voting for the lower house of Parliament. But unofficial reports from state news media and party monitors continued to indicate that the Brotherhood's party had won about 40 percent of the votes, the Salafi party about 25 percent and a liberal coalition known as the Egyptian Bloc slightly less.
Emboldened by its success, the Brotherhood's party has said that Parliament should try to wrest the power to name a new prime minister from Egypt's interim military rulers — an assertion of authority that the military council has so far rebuffed. But on Thursday the party also reiterated, as it has throughout the campaign, that it hoped to form a unity government with the more liberal parties in Parliament. The elections, it said in another statement, "will most likely lead to a balanced Parliament that reflects the various components of the Egyptian public."
Liberal Egyptians have become increasingly afraid that that will not be the case; they were surprised by the unexpected success of the Salafis. In contrast to the Brotherhood's emphasis during the campaign on tolerance and pluralism, the Salafis often talk about moving quickly to put in effect Islamic religious code on matters like banking, alcohol, women's dress or entertainment.
Many male Salafi candidates refuse to shake hands with women and in interviews require female journalists to wear a veil. Egyptian law requires all parties to nominate at least one woman on each roster of candidates, but because many Salafis oppose putting women in leadership roles, they put their female candidates' names last on each list. Often, the women's campaign posters displayed flowers instead of their faces.
Scholars credited the Salafis' success in part to their organizational advantages. The term Salafi is used for Muslims who seek to emulate the companions of the Prophet Muhammad, in their understanding and practice of Islam. Salafis had flourished for years in Egypt, but under Mr. Mubarak most had turned away from politics because they believed that law should come from God and not man.
But after the president was overthrown in February, opening the possibility of democratic change, some Salafis began to argue that by seeking office they could carry out God's law through Parliament. And when they did turn to politics, they were able to rally an existing and organized network of as many as two million to four million Egyptians, said Shadi Hamid, a researcher at the Brookings Institution in Doha, Qatar. Many had already gravitated to the leadership of a local sheik.
The Muslim Brotherhood, in contrast, is believed to have about one million members, including 600,000 men and about 400,000 women, Mr. Hamid said.
"The Salafis have been underestimated from day one, because it is hard to imagine how this guy with a long beard and some aggressive ideas can actually gain much support," Mr. Hamid said. "But elections are about organization and manpower, and they have a core group of supporters that is very mobilized."
In Egypt, "liberals don't have two million core supporters," he added, "and they never will."
-----------------
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
No comments:
Post a Comment