FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Nadine Wahab at media@eacuse.org

The shameful rigging of last weekend’s parliamentary elections proves that the current Egyptian Administration is unwilling to hold a transparent impartial election.  This has forced the Muslim Brotherhood and Wafd Party to withdraw from a run of election this coming weekend, leaving the National Democratic Party to essentially run against itself. The government’s rejection of international monitors, the continued silencing of all dissenting voices, and the violence documented at polling stations undermines the legitimacy of any new Parliament.

To ensure the credibility of the next president, substantive constitutional reforms need to be implemented, as called for by the National Association for Change, far in advance of next year’s presidential election. Without these reforms the current legitimacy crisis of Egyptian government may deteriorate into violence, which will further escalate the brutality witnessed during this Parliamentary election.

We Thank the Muslim Brotherhood and Alwaf Party for their decision to boycott the second round of elections this Sunday. We hope that this recent outcry against the National Democratic Party’s unrelenting oppression will result in a tipping point leading to grassroots mobilization. We call on all opposition parties to join together to achieve reform and become the driving force behind a peaceful and democratic Egypt.

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The EAC-USA advocates for political reform in Egypt, including a voting mechanism for the Egyptian Diaspora, and the guarantees of both the freedom of expression and peaceful political participation.