Muslim Brotherhood Deputy General Guide Khairat al-Shater has said the group and its Freedom and Justice Party told the military council, the government and the International Monetary Fund to postpone a loan of US$3.2 billion until the presidential election is held and a new government formed.
“It makes no sense to obtain a loan for an interim government to spend and another to be responsible for,” Shater said at a meeting with the American Chamber of Commerce on Monday.
“We have no objection to a loan, but we disagree on the timing,” he added.
Egypt and the IMF are in discussions on a US$3.2 billion loan program, which Egypt had requested earlier this year but which had been opposed by the powerful Muslim Brotherhood.
The IMF is insisting that any agreement on financing is backed by Egypt's government and political partners ahead of the presidential election later this month. This would ensure the deal would outlast the political transition following the polls.
In response to a question about the reaction of the group and the party in case a court ruling invalidates Parliament, he said: “We know that the judiciary was politicized in the previous decades, but we must respect it now.”
Regarding the statements made by FJP leading figure Mohamed al-Beltagy that the Brotherhood would object to the election results should Amr Moussa or Ahmed Shafiq win, Shater said: “The symbols of Mubarak's regime cannot win without rigging because the people do not want them.”
On the group’s position regarding women, he said 50 percent of the group members are female. “We tried to push for more female representation in Parliament but faced the male chauvinist culture in society,” he said.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
