Free Republic

The Arab Spring could open the door for Islamists – as seen in Egypt elections – and threaten Israel,...

THE WASHINGTON TIMES CAIRO -- The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, shaping up as the government's one real political challenger, says a draft constitutional amendment allowing opponents to challenge Hosni Mubarak for president is so "ridiculous" that the group cannot decide how to respond. Mohammed Habib, first deputy to the leader of the Brotherhood, told The Washington Times yesterday that the proposed changes, approved by the upper house of parliament yesterday, contain "ridiculous conditions that rob the amendment of its soul and take us back to square one."

President Hosni Mubarak's statement last month that Egypt's next election will involve multiple candidates - instead of being simply a referendum on his rule - unleashed a rush of opposition activity here. Demonstrations by largely secular and left-wing groups have become commonplace, as have press attacks on the president and his family. But Sunday, with the outlawed but politically powerful Muslim Brotherhood set to join the fray, the regime sent a clear signal on the limits of dissent. Starting at dawn, the government arrested about 70 members of the Brotherhood in Cairo and three other cities. Among those, Brotherhood officials...

Mar. 12, 2005 - Egypt on Saturday released on bail Ayman Nour, an opposition leader detained since the end of January and whose jailing aroused Washington's concern. Scores of people, waving orange Ghad (Tomorrow) party flags, cheered Nour as he left a Cairo detention center after supporters paid his bail of 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($1,724). Nour, leader of the opposition Ghad party, was held for about six weeks during investigations into allegations that his party forged documents when it applied for recognition last year. The party says the allegations are fabrications. "He came out much stronger than he went in...

Egypt’s president, Hosni Mubarak, has finally responded to US prompting and to the increasingly agitated demands of his domestic opposition for meaningful democratic reforms. His announcement on February 26th that he wants the constitution changed to allow for the direct election of the president is a potentially revolutionary move. It is only a first step, however, and it is unlikely to prevent Mr Mubarak from securing a fifth term when Egypt’s first contested presidential election takes place in September this year. Mr Mubarak has resisted calls for radical political reform ever since he assumed power in 1981 following the assassination...

All nations which aspire to a genuine democracy must have at the forefront free and fair elections. They must, of their choosing, elect representatives who will be of the people and for the people. Any country lacking a genuine ballot box can only pretend to be democratic. In the Middle East, pretenses are now being pushed aside for the real thing. We have seen unprecedented elections in Iraq and Palestine and nationwide municipal elections in the Kingdom. Now Egypt is also to be added to the list of countries participating in democracy in the Middle East. President Hosni Mubarak’s call...

The latest Arab dictatorship to bow to the lesson of last month's Iraq elections is Egypt, where President Hosni Mubarak asked parliament on Saturday to amend the Constitution to allow for the first direct, multiparty presidential election in its history. Genuine democracy will be in the details, and the U.S. State Department has reacted cautiously. But the big news is that Mr. Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt since 1981 and with increasingly Pharaoh-like tendencies, felt obliged to move. His announcement followed last week's cancellation by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice of a trip to Cairo as a way to protest...

CAIRO, Egypt - In a surprise and dramatic reversal, President Hosni Mubarak (news - web sites) took a first significant step Saturday toward democratic reform in the world's most populous Arab country, ordering the constitution changed to allow presidential challengers on the ballot this fall. An open election has long been a demand of the opposition but was repeatedly rejected by the ruling party, with Mubarak only last month dismissing calls for reform as "futile." The sudden shift was the first sign from the key U.S. ally that it was ready to participate in the democratic evolution in the Middle...

Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has asked parliament to change the constitution to allow multiple candidates in presidential polls. The surprise announcement followed US and domestic pressure for reform in the Arab world's most populous nation. Mr Mubarak said the move was aimed at bringing the law "in line with this stage of our nation's history". The proposal will be put to referendum before September's presidential poll. Currently, Egypt holds presidential referendums on a single candidate approved by parliament. Mr Mubarak's National Democratic Party has dominated the assembly since political parties were restored in the 1970s and he was expected to...

CAIRO, Egypt - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday ordered a revision of the country's election laws and said multiple candidates could run in the nation's presidential elections, a scenario Mubarak hasn't faced since taking power in 1981. The surprise announcement, a response to critics' calls for political reform, comes shortly after historic elections in Iraq and the Palestinian territories, balloting that brought a taste of democracy to the region. It also comes amid a sharp dispute with the United States over Egypt's arrest of one of the strongest proponents of multi-candidate elections. "The election of a president will be...

By MAAMOUN YOUSSEF, Associated Press Writer CAIRO, Egypt - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (news - web sites) on Saturday ordered a revision of the country's election laws and said multiple candidates could run in the nation's presidential elections, a scenario Mubarak hasn't faced since taking power in 1981. AP Photo The surprise announcement, a response to critics' calls for political reform, comes shortly after historic elections in Iraq (news - web sites) and the Palestinian territories, balloting that brought a taste of democracy to the region. It also comes amid a sharp dispute with the United States over Egypt's arrest...

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday ordered a revision of the country's election laws, signaling an openness to holding a contested presidential election, a scenario Mubarak hasn't faced since becoming the country's leader in 1981. In his surprise announcement, Mubarak said the country needed "more freedom and democracy," responding to critics' calls for political reform in Egypt. "The election of a president will be through direct, secret balloting, giving the chance for political parties to run for the presidential elections and providing guarantees that allow more than one candidate for the people to choose among them...

The United States wants to be seen as a supporter of democracy around the world, except, of course, when supporting democracy may be inconvenient. Among Washington's best pals in the Arab or Muslim worlds, which, together, routinely receive billions of dollars in U.S. aid: the governments of Egypt (a dictatorship), Jordan (an absolute monarchy) and Pakistan (a military dictatorship led by Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in 1999). Now, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, 76, has hinted that "he could stand for a fifth [six-year] term." He also has "rejected opposition demands to open the balloting to other candidates." Mubarak,...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Several hundred Egyptians protested in central Cairo on Monday in the largest street demonstration since the launch last year of a campaign against continued rule by the Mubarak family. Liberals, leftists and Islamists chanted: "Enough, shame, have mercy" and "Down, down with (President) Hosni Mubarak" in a public square outside the gates of Cairo University, as tens of thousands of mostly bemused commuters drove past. Many of them carried yellow flags or stickers saying "Enough" -- the slogan of an informal movement dedicated to stopping Mubarak from obtaining a fifth six-year term in office or arranging for...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Several hundred Egyptians protested in central Cairo on Monday in the largest street demonstration since the launch last year of a campaign against continued rule by the Mubarak family. Liberals, leftists and Islamists chanted: "Enough, shame, have mercy" and "Down, down with (President) Hosni Mubarak (news - web sites)" in a public square outside the gates of Cairo University, as tens of thousands of mostly bemused commuters drove past. Many of them carried yellow flags or stickers saying "Enough" -- the slogan of an informal movement dedicated to stopping Mubarak from obtaining a fifth six-year term in...