The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) opposition movement intends to contest a full half of the seats in the national assembly for the governorates of Ismailia, Sharqiya and Qalyubia in next month's elections, according to an announcement this week by the MB’s administrative offices.
This contradicts earlier statements by MB chief Mohamed Badie that the group would only vie for some 30 percent of the seats in the assembly.
In an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm, MB leader and Shura Council member Gamal Heshmat described the conflicting statements as a "political tactic," made necessary by the harassment and arrest of group members by the government in the run-up to elections.
Heshmat also said that the names of MB candidates would not be announced immediately to avoid harassment by security agencies. He added that the group was taking "every precaution" during the electoral process to avoid the arrest and detention of its members.
Informed sources within the brotherhood have said the group planned to field six candidates for the coastal city of Port Said out of the city's seven seats in the assembly. In Alexandria, meanwhile, the group intends to field nine candidates out of the city's 13 parliamentary seats.
Brotherhood MP Mohsen Radi said that the group would only field candidates for 30 percent of parliamentary seats, explaining that, although it would contest 50 percent of the seats for Qalubiya, it would only contest 10 percent of the seats for Sohag.
Ultimately, said Radi, the group would only end up contesting a total of 30 percent of the seats in parliament.
