CAIRO: The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) achieved its aims in this month's Shoura Council elections and is preparing for the upcoming People's Assembly elections in October, President Hosni Mubarak said Wednesday while meeting his party's new and continuing members of the council. Mubarak gave a speech to the Shoura Council members of his party's parliamentary authority at the presidential palace in Heliopolis a day after appointing 44 members to the council. The NDP had won around 95 percent of the seats in the June bi-election. Congratulating them, he said, “The national party achieved its goals in the midterm election of the council … [and] the party has begun preparations for the People's Assembly elections.” The parliamentary authority also nominated current Shoura Council speaker Safwat Al Sherif to remain in his position for another term, a nomination expected to be ratified by the council Thursday. “We seek to enshrine our democracy, support its foundations, spread its culture and elevate its practice,” Mubarak said, “and I invite the national party and all other parties and Egyptians to participate effectively towards this common goal.” The midterm elections took place earlier this month amid widespread reports of voting violations, with the alleged violations seeming to favor the ruling NDP candidates at the expense of opposition ones, especially those from the Muslim Brotherhood. There were also outbreaks of violence including a shootout in Beheira governorate. There were reports that delegates of opposition candidates were prevented from entering polling stations and in some cases were beaten. “These were crimes that took place, not mere violations,” Ashraf Badreldin, the Muslim Brotherhood candidate for Ashmon-Shama in the governorate of Munofiya told Daily News Egypt the day of the election. “There were 452 stations in my constituency; I was only allowed to run in 192. In half of those they said the paperwork was not correct. In the others my delegates were kicked out after 15 minutes.” Counselor Ahmed Shawky, official spokesman of the Supreme Electoral Commission, told Daily News Egypt at the time, “There were no violations, the elections took place under calm circumstances but there were isolated incidents that could have happened anywhere.” Mubarak appointed 44 members to the council Tuesday, including eleven women and eight Coptic Christians. Also appointed to the council were Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Mufid Shehab and member of the NDP policies committee Mustafa Al-Fiqi. In his address, Mubarak addressed foreign affairs, stating that Palestine remained an integral part of foreign policy, as well as engaging the Nile Basin countries regarding water rights, which (with the exception of Sudan) have split off to sign a new water sharing agreement despite Egypt's disapproval.
