Cairo: Former director of the IAEA
Muhammad El Baradei will not run for Egyptian Presidentship,
his aide has said, warning that the country is reeling under
under social conditions that might lead to a civil war.
Secretary General of the National Association for
Change, Hasan Nafi`ah, said that democracy is the only safety
valve that can preclude the outbreak of a popular uprise in
Egypt and that this is the last opportunity for the government
to win the confidence of the people and to restore stability
to the country.
He warned that Egypt is living under social
conditions that might lead to a civil war break out in the
country.
Nafi`ah, a political science professor at Cairo
University, said the upcoming parliamentary elections and the
political developments in Egypt were discussed, that the
current developments in Egypt were a source of concern. He
accused the Egyptian government of corruption and noted that
the situation is becoming worse and more corruptible every
day.
Nafi`ah reiterated an earlier statement that former
Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, ElBaradei,
was not seeking the presidential office and that his only goal
was to introduce change and political reforms and to acquaint
the citizens of Egypt with their rights.
Meanwhile, Member of the Policies Secretariat at the
National Democratic Party, Dr Husam al-Badrawi, said that the
developments in Egypt do not cause any concern. In fact, these
developments are useful, particularly that Egypt is heading
toward parliamentary elections. However, he denied that there
is an intention to amend the articles of the constitution that
involve the nomination to the office of the president of the
republic.
Al-Badrawi admitted that there were enormous
differences between the NDP National Democratic Party policies
and what is applied on the ground.
This was viewed by the President of the Democratic
Front Party, Dr Usama al-Ghazali Harb, as a failure on the
part of the NDP. Harb said that what al-Badrawi was saying had
nothing to do with the NDP. He called on him to quit the NDP
and join the Democratic Front.
Harb, who is a former member of the NDP, contested the
statement made by al-Badrawi that the NDP was careful to hold
fair elections in Egypt. Harb said: Unfortunately, the NDP has
never held fair elections. In fact, we do not expect any
fairness in elections held by the NDP, whether they are
People`s Assembly, Shura Council, or presidential elections.
PTI
