Egypt's Islamists demand changes to election lawPublished: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 5:37 p.m.Last Modified: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 at 5:37 p.m.Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday turned up the pressure on the country's military rulers to change a disputed new election law, even holding out the possibility of a boycott of upcoming parliamentary elections unless the bill is amended. In a statement posted on the website of the Brotherhood's political arm, the group demanded the law be changed to allow party lists to contest all of the seats in parliament, including those currently allocated to only to individual candidates. "We reject participation in the elections unless the article is changed," said the statement, which was signed by the coalition of The Democratic Alliance, which includes 37 parties along with the Brotherhood's Freedom and Equality party. Many Egyptian political groups say limiting the voting to party lists would make it harder for former members of Mubarak's now-outlawed ruling party to run. They say the change would also help make Egypt's politics less about personalities and more about policies. Brotherhood officials tried to downplay the threat to boycott the parliamentary elections, slated to being Nov. 28, saying the group would not skip the vote. "Everybody is talking about a boycott, but we are not behind a boycott because it means postponing the transfer of power, which we don't want to do," said Mohammed el-Beltagi, a leading Brotherhood party member. It seems unlikely the Brotherhood and other Islamist groups would be inclined to skip the vote. They are among the best organized political forces in Egypt, and best prepared to win a big share of seats. Copyright © 2011 TuscaloosaNews.com — All rights reserved. http://www.tuscaloosanews.com |