CAIRO: The liberal Free Egyptians Party (FEP) led by telecoms tycoon Naguib Sawiris said on Monday that it would boycott the Shura Council, or Upper House of Parliament, elections later this month in protest to election violations committed by Islamist parties during the three rounds of voting in the Lower House of Parliament. Sawiris said that his party would not participate in an election where violations by parties are frequent. The announcement comes as the Islamist parties, the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and the al-Nour Salafist Party received the lion's share of votes in the Lower House election. According to results, the two parties garnered nearly two-thirds of all votes, which has left liberal parties frustrated and worried about the move right in the country. The FEP's withdrawal could be a major blow to the Egyptian Bloc, an alliance of liberal and leftist groups of which it is a key member. The Egyptian Bloc is expected to win at least 9 percent of seats in the lower house. The FEP called on other parties to join it in boycotting the Shura Council election and it was not immediately clear whether the Egyptian Bloc would run without one of its main parties. “The process turned into a religious competition rather than an electoral one …” the FEP said in a statement, adding that the results did not accurately express the will of Egyptians. “We filed more than 500 complaints but no legal action was taken to resist it … which will exacerbate violations during the Shura Council election as violators are awarded with electoral gains and those abiding by the laws are punished.” Local monitors have said Egypt's first free parliamentary vote since army officers overthrew the monarchy in 1952 was marred by minor violations that could cast doubt on some constituencies' results, but that these would not undermine the legitimacy of the ballot as a whole. The violations include party publicity outside voting stations, using religious slogans and isolated reports of judges and employees directing voters to vote for Islamist parties, the monitors said. Liberal activists told Bikyamasr.com that they had hoped the elections would help push Egypt toward a better future in the post-Hosni Mubarak era, but have been hit by low voter turnout and the rise of conservative Islamic groups. Shaheer Ishaq, a parliamentary candidate, told Bikyamasr.com before the voting began on November 30 that he was “hopeful that the elections would be free and fair,” but the violations reported have largely left the country at odds with the results. “We are participating because we want Egyptians to understand and believe in the process,” he said. “It is all about creating the idea that people can have a voice in their government.” But others are not convinced and many leading activists boycotted the vote, which they argued was marred by military violence against civilians leading up to the first round of voting and throughout the election. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/XnH5u Tags: Elections, featured, Free Egyptians Party, Sawiris Section: Egypt, Latest News
