USA Today quotes Associate Director for Research at the Rafik Hariri Center Tarek Radwan for the Middle East on the Egyptian elections:
Tarek Radwan, associate director of the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, says Sabahi will merely be a government talking point to show there is political competition, which is only a facade.”In the climate that Egypt is experiencing right now, it’s impossible to have a free and fair election,” Radwan said.
A sweeping crackdown on Islamists in recent months has broadened to any voices of opposition. Late last month, an Egyptian court banned activities of the April 6 youth movement on allegations that it was involved in espionage and tarnished the image of Egypt overseas. The opposition group ignited protests in 2011 that ultimately led to Hosni Mubarak’s ouster.