General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) opposition movement Mahdi Akef met Monday with leading group members to hammer out details of upcoming elections for the group’s influential Guidance Bureau.
Participants discussed whether the five bureau members elected last year should keep their posts–a proposal to which two thirds of those present reportedly objected.
According to Guidance Bureau sources, leading group members urged Akef to stay on as General Guide for another term. Earlier this week, Akef announced his intention to retire from the post once his current term expires at the end of December. The majority of participants at Monday’s meeting preferred that the issue be decided by Guidance Bureau members rather than by the group’s Shura Council.
The same sources stressed that suggestions made at the meeting were only "advisory" in nature. They added that leading MB members had unanimously agreed to hold elections for the group’s top post within the next few days, citing Akef’s insistence on stepping down later this month.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
