Sources close the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) Guidance Bureau say that group leaders have put their proposed political program on hold. MB leaders have also agreed not to announce the electoral constituencies in which they will run or the number of candidates they will field in this year’s elections for the Shura Council, the consultative chamber of parliament.
Sources say the group wants a truce with the regime in order to secure the release of bureau members Mahmoud Ezzat and Essam el-Erian, among other arrested leaders.
They also report that MB spokesperson Mohamed Moussa is keeping the program far from the group’s headquarters in fear of security raids aimed at seizing the document and holding it against the group.
MB Deputy General Guide Rashad el-Bayoumy declined to comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, Gamal Heshmat, another MB leader, explained that, "The general atmosphere doesn’t allow the formation of new political parties, which is why we put our proposed platform on hold."
In a related development, seven MB students were arrested in Alexandria University for staging demonstrations condemning Israel for its recent assault on Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
