[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Egypt and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Egypt Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to egypt@jadaliyya.com by Sunday night of every week.]
Political Rights
Amnesty International issues call for release of Mahmoud Mohamed
Mohamed was arrested while walking home on the third anniversary of the January 25 revolution for wearing a t-shirt bearing the logo and slogan for the Nation Without Torture campaign and a scarf with a symbol of the 2011 uprising.
Doctors Syndicate requests permission to assess Esraa al-Taweel`s condition
The Doctors Syndicate has requested permission to visit detained student Esraa al-Taweel in Qanater Women’s Prison to assess her condition as her family and lawyers argue she is being denied urgently needed medical care.
CairoComix: Excavating the political
Jonathan Guyer writes on the CairoComix Festival, which was held at the American University in Cairo’s Tahrir Campus earlier this month.
NGO claims security canceled event with parliamentary candidates in Mansoura
A panel discussion with parliamentary candidates was cancelled by National Security on Monday, the NGO organizing it claimed.
Hussein Mosque shrine closed to bar Shias from observing Ashura holiday
The Endowments Ministry is closing the shrine in Islamic Cairo’s historic Hussein Mosque from Thursday to Saturday to bar followers of the Shia faith from worshipping there during the festival of Ashura.
Journalist missing after police arrest him in his home
Journalist Hossam al-Deen Seed was arrested in his home and taken to an unknown location on Thursday morning, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) reported. He was still missing as of Thursday evening.
Witnesses in activist Shaimaa al-Sabbagh’s murder acquitted
An appeals court acquitted thirteen Popular Socialist Alliance Party members on Saturday who had been accused of violating the protest law and threatening national security, according to the party’s Facebook page.
Former agriculture minister referred to court on corruption charges
Helal and other ministry officials are suspected of taking pay-offs in exchange for granting licenses for state land, said a statement issued by the acting prosecutor general.
Alexandria University cancels lecture by Egypt`s ex-presidential scientific advisor Heggy
Essam Heggy, ex-Egypt presidential scientific advisor who was slammed last year for questioning an alleged medical breakthrough, said late Friday that Alexandria University canceled a seminar he was supposed to give on planet Mars.
Families still pressing rights council on missing relatives whereabouts
Families of alleged victims of forced disappearance are continuing to approach the National Council for Human Rights for assistance in finding the location of their missing relatives.
Egypt locks up lawyers in Islamist fight
As Egypt cracks down on its Islamist dissidents, many of the country`s lawyers are finding themselves on the wrong side of the law as well.
Sisi is not Nasser: Alain Gresh
Al-Masry Al-Youm interviews Alain Gresh, editor of Le Monde Diplomatique.
Bad weather conditions result in five deaths in Alexandria
The Health Ministry stated that five people were killed in Alexandria on Sunday as the coastal city experienced heavy rain and bad weather conditions.
Egypt court to hear Ayman Nour’s passport renewal appeal
Egypt’s State Council Administrative court accepted on Sunday to hear opposition figure Ayman Nour’s appeal against a decision not to renew his passport.
Hassan Malek’s Arrest
Interior Ministry: Brotherhood leaders plotted to devalue the pound, destroy the nation
Security forces arrested business tycoon Hassan Malek and four other former Brotherhood leaders on Thursday after receiving intelligence that they were planning to smuggle foreign currency abroad through exchange bureaus affiliated with the banned group.
Egypt’s interior ministry accuses Brotherhood Malek of attempting to smuggle foreign currency
Malek, who has kept a low profile since Morsi`s ouster, has had his assets frozen since September 2014.
Egypt`s prosecution orders fifteen-day detention for Brotherhood businessman Hassan Malek
Malek is accused, along with four others, of amassing foreign currency and smuggling it out of the country in order to "destabilize the price of the US dollar" in Egypt.
Elections
Pro-Sisi list tops polls with first round voter turnout of 26.56 percent
The pro-government For the Love of Egypt electoral list swept the polls in the first round of Egypt’s parliamentary elections, the head of the High Elections Commission Ayman Abbas announced in a press conference on Wednesday evening.
For the Love of Egypt wins majority of expatriate votes
For the Love of Egypt, an electoral list formed in response to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s plea for a unified front in parliament, gained the majority of Egyptian expatriate votes during the first round of parliamentary elections.
Two officers, Nour Party candidate killed in North Sinai
A roadside bomb targeting an armored vehicle killed two police officers and injured at least nine people on Saturday. Meanwhile, the only parliamentary candidate for the Salafi Nour Party in North Sinai was shot dead on Saturday by unknown assailants in Arish.
Clear winners and dark horses
What was expected and what is surprising about the parliamentary elections results? Mada Masr reports.
After staggering defeat, is it lights out for the Nour Party?
After the party kept a unified front during the many elections and referendums of the past four years, this is the first time youth members have been angered by voting results to the point of threatening to quit an electoral race.
We are ready to collect fines for non-voters if required: Egypt`s local planning minister
The Ministry of Local and Administrative Development will collect fines of non-voters if necessary, the minister said on Monday, the second day of the first stage in the parliamentary elections.
Disqualified parliament candidate wins sixty of votes in an Alexandria constituency
A disqualified candidate has won sixty percent of votes in a polling station in Alexandria in Egypt’s parliamentary elections after a committee overseeing the voting failed to remove his name from ballot papers in time.
Egypt slams western media over claims of low turnout in parliamentary elections
Egypt`s foreign ministry took another swipe at foreign media outlets over its coverage of the ongoing parliamentary elections that kicked off on Sunday, saying it reflects "another failed attempt to tarnish the country`s image".
Preliminary results reveal wide run-off round to take place in parliamentary bid
Preliminary results from the first stage of Egypt`s parliamentary elections showed on Tuesday that the majority of the individual seats will witness a run-off round.
Observers report buying votes, other violations in Egypt`s parliamentary election
Local observing organizations issued a report stating that the elections saw some violations mostly involving the buying of votes and voters being unable to cast ballots for various reasons.
Egypt`s Socialist Popular Alliance fails to win any seats in first election stage
Egypt’s Socialist Popular Alliance Party (SPAP) announced Tuesday that none of its candidates won or made it to the run-offs in the first stage of Egypt’s parliamentary elections.
Islamist Nour Party faces stunning defeat in Egypt, secular coalition emerges victorious: Initial poll results
The Nour Party`s defeat contrasts sharply with its strong performance in 2011`s parliamentary elections, where it came second to the Muslim Brotherhood in terms of the number of votes and seats.
Runoff between two not four in Agouza and Dokki`s `celebrity constituency`
Ahmed Mortada Mansour and Amr El-Shobaki will compete for the second available seat in the constituency after Abdel-Rehim Ali won the other.
Egypt`s elections credible despite minor violations: African Union
The first phase of Egypt`s parliamentary elections featured a range of minor violations to be expected in any polling process, the head of the African Union (AU) commission to observe the elections said on Wednesday.
Diehard Mubarak-era figures lose big in first stage of Egypt`s parliamentary elections
Dozens of Mubarak-era figures who ran as independents have failed to win seats in the first stage of Egypt`s parliamentary elections.
Turnout at 26.5 percent in Egypt elections, four independents secure parliamentary seats in first round
Ahram Online reports the results of the first round of the elections.
Egyptian court rules parliament elections void in Alexandria`s El-Raml
The court ordered that re-elections take place within a period of sixty days.
Mapping election runoffs: Parties versus independents
Runoffs in the first round of Egypt`s parliamentary elections will take place next week, with 224 candidates representing thirteen different parties and 212 independent candidates competing to win a total of 218 parliamentary seats.
Despite defamation we will remain in parliamentary race: Egypt`s Salafist Nour party
The first round of voting brought disappointing results for members of the Nour party, who claim that they are suffering from a media smear campaign.
Mostakbal Watan emerges from the dark to outstanding election victory
The party ran in the first stage of elections, held 18-19 October, with eighty-eight candidates, managing to secure a niche in the runoffs with fort-eight candidates (sixty percent of the party`s total candidates). Six other candidates from Mostakbal Watan’s ranks have guaranteed a victory as part of the For the Love of Egypt list, which observers say is the coalition with the best chances of winning.
MB anti-Nour Party campaign affected party: researcher
The campaigns organized by the Muslim Brotherhood against the Salafi al-Nour Party had a negative effect on the party`s popularity ahead of parliamentary elections, said researcher on Islamic movements Kamal Habib in an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm Wednesday.
Poor election turnout in Egypt might strengthen Sisi`s hand: analysis
Lack of interest from voters, even many who support the former general, could be interpreted as a green light to consolidate his own rule.
Egypt loyalists take the lead in parliament elections
A political alliance loyal to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has scooped all 60 list seats up for grabs in the first round of a parliamentary election in which opposition parties were all but absent, official results showed on Wednesday.
Parliament will not last long: Socialist Popular Alliance Party president
Al-Masry Al-Youm interviews Abdel Ghaffar Shokr, president of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party and deputy chairman of the National Council for Human Rights.
Nour Party ready to withdraw from political arena: chairman
The Nour Party is ready to withdraw from the political arena to protect Egypt from collapse and from the dangers threatening other countries in the region, said Nour Party Chairman Younes Makhyoun.
Twenty-four former NDP members win elections
Twenty-four former National Democratic Party (NDP) members won the parliamentary elections in the For the Love of Egypt alliance lists in Upper Egypt and west Delta.
Egypt`s Alexandria braces for fierce battles in parliament election`s runoffs
As many as fifty independent candidates hailing from different political camps will be competing for twenty-five individual seats in Egypt`s second biggest city that constitutes a population around four million.
Nedaa Masr withdraws from phase two of parliament elections
An electoral alliance has announced it is withdrawing its candidates from the second phase of the House of Representatives` elections slated for November 23, citing several breaches and media biases.
Nour Party withdraws from election in N. Sinai to protest member’s murder
Five parliamentary candidates for the Salafi-led Nour Party in North Sinai announced on Saturday that they were withdrawing their election bids in protest of their colleague`s fatal shooting on the same day.
Economy
Hesham Ramez resigns as CBE governor, replaced by Tarek Amer
Al-Masry al-Youm reported that Ramez allegedly lost his temper during a recent Cabinet meeting, calling for the government’s support to provide support to fight currency traders and those who smuggle foreign currency into Egypt.
Workers strike over unpaid bonuses at Egypt`s largest textile company
Several thousand workers at the Misr Spinning and Weaving Company in Mahalla al-Kubra commenced a partial strike on Wednesday over unpaid bonuses promised by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Mahalla workers threaten to escalate protests
Workers of the Mahalla Spinning and Weaving Company, who have been on strike for two days, have threatened to escalate protests on Saturday if the ten percent bonus decreed by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is not disbursed.
Can Egypt`s new central bank chief calm currency crisis?
Fresh blood at the top has raised hopes of impending change to a monetary policy that has failed to stabilize the pound, has angered importers and become personally associated with Ramez, whose currency controls have starved some businesses of dollars.
Faculty staff salaries to decrease by ten percent
The Finance Ministry and Central Auditing Agency`s decision to decrease faculty staff salaries in accordance with the new Civil Service Law has angered university professors.
A thousand pilots out of work
Civilian Pilots` Syndicate Secretary General Ali Roushdy said in a statement on Friday that a thousand pilots are out of work, which equals fifty percent of the total number of pilots. “Whoever wants to become a pilot risks his future,” he said.
Domestic Security
Egypt`s official cabinet website hacked
An anonymous hackers group says it took down the official cabinet website in solidarity with pro-Morsi Rabaa sit-in protesters.
Egypt secures `full control` of North Sinai: Spokesperson
Ahram Online reports.
IS claims blast that wounded four near Egypt pyramids
Four people were wounded on Friday by a bomb planted at a Cairo intersection near the Pyramids, the interior ministry said, and the Islamic State (IS) group claimed it had planted the device.
Egypt to set up ad hoc court for human trafficking: Justice Minister
Egypt will set up an ad hoc court for human trafficking and illegal migration crimes, said Justice Minister Ahmed el Zend.