Muslim brotherhood announcement

A member of the visiting Muslim Brotherhood delegation told a group at Georgetown that the group believes in a constitution based on "Sharia principles not Sharia rulings." The delegation also stressed the importance of free trade and foreign direct investment.

ELECTIONS:

1) Islamist presidential candidate Hazem Saleh Abu Ismail may be disqualified from the presidential race if reports that his mother was an American passport holder are confirmed. Ismail has denied the allegations and accused his detractors of engaging in a conspiracy to derail his candidacy.  Brotherhood candidate Khairat al-Shater is expected to benefit most from Abu Isamil’s likely withdrawal. [Arabiya, English, 4/5/2012] [al-Masry al-Youm, Arabic, 4/5/2012]

2) Former head of intelligence Omar Suleiman has dropped out of the presidential race. [Ahram]

3) Former presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei called for “one country with one budget” and demanded transparency in reporting of the military’s spending and economic empire.

BROTHERHOOD VISIT TO WASHINGTON:

4)  A member of the visiting Muslim Brotherhood delegation told a group at Georgetown that the group believes in a constitution based on "Sharia principles not Sharia rulings." The delegation also stressed the importance of free trade and foreign direct investment. [Daily Beast, English, 4/5/2012]

5) On April 5, Freedom and Justice adviser Hussein Al-Kazzaz defended the party’s decision to run in the election, saying it was in defiance of an effort by Egypt’s ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to block it from participation. “We engaged in detailed discussion with SCAF and they said, ‘Your reign on the country stops at parliament,’” he said at Georgetown. [Daily Beast]

CONSTITUTION:

6) The constituent assembly reconvened on April 4 despite the resignation of 20 of its members, according to Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) MP Sobhi Saleh. If the assembly cannot meet its legal quorum due to the resignations, both houses of Parliament will hold a joint session to discuss the issue. At least 65 of the assembly’s 100 members are Islamists. Mohamed al-Beltagy announced on Monday that the Constituent Assembly’s ‘committee of nine’, which was tasked with mediating a resolution to the resignation crisis, had reached a preliminary agreement to replace some of the current Islamist members with outside professional experts. [Ahram, English, 4/5/2012]