|
US objects to postponement of Egyptian polls
 The United States on Tuesday objected to the move by Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, to postpone municipal elections for two years, and said it would raise the matter with Cairo. As a matter of principle we do not favor postponing elections, State Department spoksman Sean McCormack said of the polls that were due to be held in Egypt by April. It is something that we are going to be discussing with the Egyptian government, he told reporters. I expect well do it through conversations here, probably as well as in Cairo.
| Sure, bring it up, won't do much good ... |
McCormack spoke two days after Egypts consultative council, the upper house of parliament, approved Mubaraks proposal to delay local elections for two years and extend the mandate of the current municipal bodies. The measure, which has to go through the lower chamber dominated by the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), drew fire from the Muslim Brotherhood, which had made spectacular gains in last years parliamentary elections.
| Which is why further elections are postponed, of course... |
The Islamist group charged the move was aimed at stemming their rise and was part of Mubaraks strategy to prevent them from winning enough support to field a candidate in the next presidential poll.
| So as to ensure that Hosni's boy becomes the next president. |
Safwat el-Sherif, consultative council speaker and NDP secretary general, said the postponement was necessary to draft a new law governing municipal administration.
| "Nope, nope, can't be done in less than two years, nope." |
Posted by: Steve White 2006-02-15 |
