CAIRO - The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and other political parties have begun preparing for the nationwide elections of the People's Assembly (the Lower House of the Egyptian Parliament), which are scheduled for November 28, a veteran NDP member said Friday. Preparations for the parliamentary elections have shifted into full gear now that the NDP has identified its candidate, Safwat el-Sherif, the Secretary General of the ruling party, said. He said that the NDP and the opposition parties have fielded more than 5,000 candidates in the coming parliamentary elections The NDP decided to field only viable candidates for polls, which will be free and fair, he said, adding that the candidates will run for seats in the 518-seat Assembly. El-Sherif has also reiterated Egypt's full rejection of foreign intervention in its affairs as well as the presence of foreign monitors in this month's elections. "Foreign intervention in internal Egyptian affairs as well as the presence of international monitors to observe the November 28 parliamentary poll are absolutely unacceptable," el-Sherif said. He called on 'those countries' that have turned themselves into a caretaker of how Egyptian society should conduct its own politics, to evaluate their own violations of human rights in the countries they have invaded and occupied. These countries insist on not respecting the privacy of the Egyptian society and making statements that incense Egypt's nationalism, he said. However, el-Sherif said that Egyptian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the foreign and local media members are welcome to monitor the polls. He emphasised that Egyptian civil society organisations will be allowed to take part in monitoring all stages of the parliamentary elections, including voting in polling stations and vote-counting in main polling committees. El-Sherif has also called on the Egyptians to choose the candidates they see most qualified to represent them in the People's Assembly that includes representatives of all segments of Egyptian society. Last week, the NDP pledged in an election platform to achieve annual economic growth of at least 7 per cent on average over the next five years. The NDP election programme, adopted ahead of the country's November 28 parliamentary vote, pledged "to achieve average growth of not less than 7 per cent a year" during the next five-year parliamentary term. Growth edged above 7 per cent a year before the global financial crisis but then dipped back to around 5 per cent The Government forecasts the economy will grow by about 6 per cent in the current financial year that began on July 1, while analysts polled by Reuters expect 5.5 per cent. Finance Minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali echoed the party's programme in comments to party members, saying: "We will be able to achieve in the next five years growth of 7 per cent at least". Ghali said this level of growth would create enough jobs to help cut Egypt's unemployment rate, which he put at 9.5 per cent. The NDP's policy committee, headed by President Hosni Mubarak's politician son Gamal, met to present the programme. The ruling party, which has dominated Egyptian politics for decades, is expected to win a majority again in the Parliament. The opposition and rights groups complain of abuses during voting. Officials insist elections are fair.
