Egyptian Politician: US Effort to Interfere in Egypt’s Elections Doomed to Failure

Secretary-General of the Egyptian Amal Party Majdi Hussein said Egypt’s political groups and factions are vigilant about US efforts to interfere in their country’s upcoming presidential elections and would not allow Washington to decide for their country.

“We have not closed our eyes on these issues and are closely monitoring these efforts,” Majid Hussein told FNA in Cairo on Monday.

“No doubt, these efforts will fail as they failed in the early days of the (Egyptian) revolution,” he noted.

The remarks and views of Majdi Hussein, who will most likely be a candidate in the upcoming presidential election in Egypt, are fully shared by other well-known political figures and leaders of the Arab, Muslim country.

Last month, a senior Egyptian political figure said that the US is pushing ahead its clandestine agenda in Egypt through funding non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the country.

Member of the Freedom and Justice Party, a political wing of Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun (Muslim Brotherhood) party, told FNA in October that the US is using these organizations to collect information that helps Washington assess the Egyptian society and social trends after the revolution and devise policies on the same basis.

The Egyptian government has reiterated its rejection of funding from the United States for unregistered non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Egypt, according to comments from Egypt’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Fayza Abouelnafa.

The government says that it does not object to foreign financing for NGOs, as long as foreign donors abide by Egyptian laws governing these organizations.

According to Anne Patterson, the US ambassador to Cairo, 14 US organizations have received $ 47.8 million in funds since the revolution, and 12 Egyptian organizations have received $5.8 million.

According to an announced timetable, Egyptian elections, the first since the ouster of US and israel-backed dictator Hosni Mubarak in February, will be held in three stages between November 28 and January 10.

After that, an election for the less powerful Shura Council, the chamber’s upper house, will be held by March.

The new parliament will then convene and appoint members of a committee to draft a new constitution. The draft constitution will be put to a national referendum later.