Egyptian Prime Minister Calls for Delay in September's Parliamentary Election

Egypt’s new Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has joined those calling for a delay in the date of parliamentary elections now scheduled for September. Others have been saying this for sometime, fearing that if elections are held in September, the well-organized and most active political group, the Muslim Brotherhood, will easily win enough seats to control the largest block in the new parliament.

This is especially important because as things stand now, the new parliament will draft the country’s constitution.

The Prime Minister and others are calling for a delay in elections until a draft constitution can be presented to Egyptian voters without uneven input from the Brotherhood, as would occur if the new parliament drafts the constitution.

Delaying voting for the parliament would also give new political groups and parties time to form, let their views become known, and enlarge their lists of voters. This is especially true of the younger activists who led the revolution that ousted Mubarak.

These young political activists do not necessarily want to eliminate the Brotherhood but they also do not want it to take political control of Egypt before others have had a chance to get organized.

The airing of these varying opinions is a good sign that Egyptians are interested in their political future and want to be involved in its development.

Even some younger Brotherhood members are concerned that September’s election could bring them to power in a way that would alienate more Egyptians than it would attract. These members are not the older hard liners who control the Muslim Brotherhood today but younger members who want a more moderate Brotherhood to fit into a more moderate and democratic Egypt.