Egyptian diplomatic sources have said that President Hosni Mubarak will not respond to American demands to send observers to monitor the November parliamentary elections.
The Washington Post reported on Thursday that former US Secretary of State and Chairman of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, Madeleine Albright, along with members of Congress and the Chairman of the National Republican Institute John McCain, wrote to Mubarak offering him the services of the two institutes to help monitor the elections for the People's Assembly. They have not received a response.
A diplomatic source told Al-Masry Al-Youm, "The president will not respond to requests like this, because the judicial authorities supervising the elections are the ones responsible for determining the parameters of foreign oversight."
Egyptian authorities have consistently refused to allow the participation of international observers in monitoring Egyptian elections.
Egyptian opposition groups, including the National Association for Change led by Mohamed ElBaradei, are demanding the presence of international as well as judicial oversight for the Egyptian elections in order to guarantee their integrity.
A 2007 constitutional amendment withdrew the provision for total judicial oversight on the electoral process.
