Egypt Independent: Top stories

Brotherhood served under Mubarak regime too, says Shafiq

Al-Masry Al-Youm — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:48:00 +0000

Presidential hopeful Ahmed Shafiq resumed his criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday and defended himself from allegations that he represents the regime of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

“Everyone served under the former [Mubarak] regime, even the Muslim Brotherhood,” Shafiq said in an interview on privately owned Al-Hayat satellite channel. “Eighty-eight of them were in the 2005 Parliament after coming to an agreement with the National Democratic Party.”

Shafiq said 99 percent of the remants of the now-disbanded NDP do not support his candidacy.

Under Mubarak, Shafiq served as civil aviation minister and then as the country’s last prime minister during the uprising early last year.

Fears that the country's situation would deteriorate prompted him to run, Shafiq said, implying that this would happen if an Islamist is elected to the country’s highest office.

He said the Brotherhood should learn about the nature of political work before getting involved in it.

In March 2011, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces dismissed Shafiq from his post following mass protests demanding his removal by activists who considered him Mubarak's crony.

“Our revolution in Tahrir Square was legitimate because it was blessed by the people, but whoever revolts against my victory would be illegitimate,” Shafiq said.

“The Brotherhood took to the square after the youth had started the revolution and they were the ones who yielded the results,” he said, describing himself as Sufi.

He added that he would seek to engage Muslims, Copts and women in his presidential administration.

Shafiq added that he could not imagine the runoffs for the presidential election being between two Islamists.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

More than a year later, Al-Azhar head still waiting for Vatican apology

Al-Masry Al-Youm — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:53:00 +0000

More than a year after freezing relations with the Catholic Church, Al-Azhar’s grand sheikh is still waiting for an apology from the pope for statements the pontiff made.

The revered Islamic institution decided in January of last year to freeze a semi-annual meeting between Vatican and Al-Azhar scholars in response to Pope Benedict XVI’s earlier statement that Christians suffer from discrimination in the Middle East. Tayyeb said relations could exist as long as the Vatican does not issue statements critical of Muslims.

Tayyeb said Wednesday that relations would remain on hold until the pope officially apologizes.

“Dialogue with the Vatican was frozen, but dialogue with the Catholic people is still ongoing all over the world,” said Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb during a meeting at Al-Azhar with Italian Ambassador to Egypt Claudio Pacifico.

The joint meeting was established in 1997 and held twice a year to discuss cooperation between the two religious institutions. It had previously been criticized for only airing general issues and common problems without broaching issues related to faith.

Al-Azhar has halted the meeting several times since its creation due to what it deemed hostile statements from the Vatican regarding Islam.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

MP accuses Brotherhood of using Parliament to promote Morsy

MENA — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:21:00 +0000

MP Hamdy al-Fakharany accused the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party of exploiting Parliament to promote the party’s presidential candidate Mohamed Morsy.

“I will file a lawsuit,” Fakharany told the state-owned Middle East News Agency.

The party distributed leaflets in the city of Mahalla saying that Morsy was behind the amendment of certain laws for the benefit of the citizens, such as the laws on the high school certificate and the minimum wage.

Fakharany also said he would request clarification from Speaker Saad al-Katatny.

Edited translation from MENA

MP withdraws proposal to restructure Constitutional Court

MENA — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:55:00 +0000

MP Mohamed Gaafar has withdrawn a proposal he had submitted to restructure the Constitutional Court in light of the current political circumstances that the country is witnessing, as he put it.

His colleague Hassan Abul Azm refused to withdraw a similar proposal.

Hussein Ibrahim of the Freedom and Justice Party bloc denied that these proposals were submitted by the party’s parliamentarians. They were submitted by Salafi Nour Party MPs,” he said, adding that his party does not agree with such proposals.

Edited translation from MENA

Government approves 2012/13 budget

Egypt Independent — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:10:00 +0000

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Fayza Abouelnaga said that the government has approved the 2012/13 fiscal year budget and its investment plan, prior to sending it to military council head Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who would in his turn refer it to Parliament, state television reported Wednesday.

Abouelnaga explained that the budget aims to achieve growth and social justice, reduce unemployment and focus on sectors that create employment opportunities, such as education, human development, health and scientific research.

“As to the investment plan, it amounts to LE55.6 billion,” she said.

“The Health Ministry was allocated LE3 billion, an increase of LE950 million in the first draft, housing LE7.8 billion and scientific research LE1.2 billion, compared with LE496 million last year,” she added.

Finance Minister Momtaz al-Saeed said that state employees' wages reached LE136.6 billion, an increase by LE19.1 billion or 16.3 percent from last year, and that half of the 400,000 workers who are paid from special funds outside the budget were included in it.

He pointed out that the provision for the administration of governmental institutions was reduced from LE30.1 billion to LE28.8 billion, while subsidies for foodstuff was increased from LE18.9 billion to LE26.6 billion, in order to ensure local purchase of wheat at world prices.

Subsidies of petroleum products were reduced and the balance directed to education and health.

Income totaled LE393.4 billion compared to LE349.6 billion, up by LE43.8 billion or 12.5 percent, constituting 22.1 percent of GDP, and covering 73 percent of the total spending.

Public taxes were increased from LE130.8 billion to LE150 billion, representing 38 percent of the general revenues, while sales taxes were increased to LE83.4 billion compared to LE72.1 billion, up LE11.3 billion or 21.2 percent of the total revenues, while custom duties were increased to LE20.8 billion compared to LE18 billion.

Tawfiq Okasha’s villa guard shot Morsy supporters, Brotherhood says

Egypt Independent — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:06:00 +0000

The guard of talk show host Tawfiq Okasha’s villa fired live ammunition at supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential candidate Mohamed Morsy on Wednesday, injuring three of them.

The Brotherhood said in a statement that the guard fired at Morsy supporters who were trying to hang banners supporting the candidate in Meet al-Korma village in Daqahlia Governorate.

The statement named the three men as Hamdy Ahmed Abu Abded, Ashmawy Mohamed Abu Abded and Ahmed Mohamed Abu Abded.

According to the statement, two were shot in the legs and one was shot in the stomach and in is a hospital in critical condition.

Al-Masry Al-Youm quoted anonymous sources at the Daqahlia Security Directorate as saying that one of the injured has a criminal record.

Okasha owns the Faraeen satellite channel. On his show, he is very critical of revolutionary forces and supportive of the military.

Brotherhood draws on Salafi and Al-Azhar preachers to support Morsy

Ghada Mohamed Al-Sherif — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:59:00 +0000

The Muslim Brotherhood is relying on more than 600 Salafi and Al-Azhar preachers to support Mohamed Morsy, its candidate in the presidential election, said a member of the Brotherhood's Guidance Bureau.

The preachers are to educate citizens on Morsy’s platform, dubbed the Renaissance Project, through seminars and conferences in various cities and villages.

“They will not use mosques for that purpose,” said Guidance Bureau member Abdel Rahman al-Barr. “Mosques are only for praying.”

But Barr also said that preachers in mosques can educate people about the ethics governing the election campaigns and the qualities required of a candidate to lead the nation and contribute to the Renaissance Project.

“They can also familiarize people with the relationship between the candidates and the voters, without mentioning the names of particular candidates or their platforms,” he said.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Brotherhood MPs accuse SCAF of backing Shafiq, warn of tampering with votes

Egypt Independent — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:10:00 +0000

In its third consecutive session, Parliament has again attacked candidates competing in the presidential election, with parliamentarians from the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party accusing the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of backing Ahmed Shafiq.

They warned of adding illegally names of army and police personnel, who are banned from participating in the election, to voter registration lists.

MP Mohamed al-Adl claimed that there are large-scale attempts by the National Security Agency and cadres of the dissolved National Democratic Party to back a certain presidential candidate who had once said he would not allow the Muslim Brotherhood to rule the country.

He added that he has proof of 80 names of police and army personnel that have been added to the lists.

Leftist presidential candidate Abul Ezz al-Hariry claimed that rigging already took place in certain Egyptian embassies in the Gulf, and called for a parliamentary committee to monitor the voting.

The SCAF renewed its statement that it is impartial to all candidates, leaving the Egyptian people to decide based on their own free will, and vowing to conduct the election in a manner that all the world would praise.

In a report on Tuesday evening, Reuters said that at least two parties dominated by members of the dissolved NDP support Shafiq, who served as the last prime minister under former President Hosni Mubarak.

But Shafiq's presidential campaign on Wednesday denied reports by Reuters that he was using former offices of the dissolved National Democratic Party.

Campaign officials said in a statement that a Reuters news agency report concerning Shafiq’s use of the headquarters was “completely false and reflects the lack of professionalism, accuracy and verification of the editor of the report, which was published by several Egyptian newspapers.”

Reuters later corrected the story to say "some members from at least two parties," not the parties themselves.

Saudi lawyer declines to defend Gizawy

MENA — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:23:00 +0000

Ahmad Rashed, the Saudi lawyer defending Ahmed al-Gizawy, an Egyptian detained in Saudi Arabia on charges of smuggling banned Xanax tablets into the kingdom, withdrew from the defense on Wednesday.

Justifying his decision, Rashed said Gizawy confessed to the offense and withheld important information.

Rashed previously agreed to defend Gizawy.

Gizawy was allegedly caught with 21,380 tablets of a drug prohibited in Saudi Arabia except for use by psychiatric institutions and under close supervision.

Edited translation from MENA

Expat voter turnout increases as voting deadline approaches

Egypt Independent — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:57:00 +0000

181,081 Egyptian expatriates had cast their votes in the presidential election as of Wednesday evening, with 70,000 voting in the past 24 hours, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Amr Roshdy.

Expatriate voting began on Friday and ends at 8 pm on Thursday in the expatriates’ respective time zones.

Most votes came from Riyadh, with 42,000 votes; followed by Kuwait with 37,000 votes; Jeddah with 36,000 votes; Abu Dhabi with 15,500 votes; Dubai with 14,333 votes; Doha with 4,948 votes; Muscat with 3,100 votes; Manama with 3,002; London with 2,236 votes; and Paris with 1,912 votes.

A judicial source told state-run news service MENA that the vote counting would take place in electoral commissions at embassies and consulates in the presence of representatives of the candidates on Friday and Saturday, and the results would be sent to the Presidential Elections Commission via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.