Egyptian political climate in disarray

Confusion and preparations for a Muslim holiday were cited as reasons for the slow start to the campaign season for Egyptian elections, party leaders said. Campaign season opened this week for elections this month. Elections in post-revolution Egypt take place in a series of stages for both houses of Parliament. Correspondents with Egyptian daily newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm said they saw posters celebrating the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha but little else. Several political figures said they were waiting until after Eid, which starts Sunday, to begin campaigning. Mahmoud Nafady, a leader of the Freedom Party, founded by a former member of the banned National Democratic Party of Hosni Mubarak, said national election officials had blocked many of their candidates "for no reason." The Egypt National Party, another NDP offshoot, said it wasn't ready to start campaigning because at least one of its candidates withdrew from the party list. Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood announced it would use "Islam is the Solution" as its campaign slogan for its Freedom and Justice Party. Muslim Brotherhood officials told the newspaper it received a court order permitting the slogan, which had been deemed illegal by the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. The first round of voting begins Nov. 28.