Muslim Brotherhood: SCAF's Nondemocratic Measures Must Be Withheld
The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) expressed disappointment with the numerous nondemocratic measures taken lately by the interim ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) without prior consent of the people and Egypt's different political factions.
The MB stated that although the people trusted the military council to serve as a temporary governor while the transition of power to an elected civil entity took place, the nation was surprised to learn that SCAF had issued numerous decrees and Amendments to the election laws which were approved by the Cabinet in a closed secretive meeting despite the parties' rejection of those laws. The MB also refuted allegations by SCAF that parties had approved those laws before the Cabinet ratified them. These laws, the MB said, were issued behind the people's back and were imposed upon them, particularly the so-called Constitutional Declaration that was released secretly on September 25, and not publicly announced till September 28, and was claimed to be allegedly accepted by party leaders, which never happened.
The statement highlighted that these methods were alarming, especially as they do not reflect the people's will, and indicate that the same methods can be adopted when drafting the upcoming constitution. "The issuing of decrees agreed upon behind closed doors without consensus is unacceptable and is a violation of democracy. It is a step back to the Mubarak era which failed to recognize and respect the people's wishes. Undoubtedly, the people will not be silent if their free will expressed in March referendum is violated," the statement read.
The statement criticized the electoral decree which stipulated two-thirds of MPs will be elected according to the party-list proportional representation system, and the rest via the individual candidacy system, and that only independents, not party members, can run for the individual seats and can never join parties in case they win a seat in either of the two houses of Parliament.
The statement reiterated disappointment and denounced the governing authorities for lacking a clear-cut vision for running the transitional period. "This tardiness only lengthens the period of insecurity and instability in the country," the MB said.
The statement highlighted that SCAF also did not keep its promise to issue a decree banning former leaders of the ruling National Democratic Party from political activity for at least five years. "Former NDP members were renowned for their corruption and ballot rigging during Mubarak's reign; they will continue to follow methods used during elections before the revolution," the statement said.
Moreover, the MB denounced the very lengthy timeline proposed by SCAF for the elections, keeping the country in an "elections atmosphere" for about five months, which would stagnate public life. Besides, electoral constituencies are not balanced in terms of the number of candidates, and are too broad for individual candidates, which would exhaust them in campaigning, and would make it difficult to afford agents and representatives.
The Muslim Brotherhood demanded SCAF to resolve the above mentioned problems, and reiterated the following demands: First: Ending the state of Emergency in accordance with the March Constitutional Declaration and in fulfillment of the promises to repeal emergency before elections. Second: Purging state institutions from the symbols of corruption who are still in their posts or those who returned to public service despite their crimes against the nation. Third: Announcing the results of investigations into the foreign funds that were exploited to corrupt political life in Egypt.