Elections countdown: 12 days
The media turns against the Nour Party 12 days before the parliamentary elections with a number of accusations against the party showing up in articles, interviews and analysis.
The Nour Party candidate’s affair
Privately owned newspaper Youm7 published an article accusing a candidate from the Nour Party in Mahalla of having an affair with his friend’s wife and smuggling her into his house 18 days ago.
The mistakes of the past
A regular column in Youm7 newspaper, written by anonymous columnist the “Son of the state,” warns Egyptian voters about letting their votes be guided by religion. The columnist asks voters to remember what happened the last time a party manipulated and used religion to win votes (spoiler: the Muslim Brotherhood won.)
To make it quite clear what he means the writer adds, “The Egyptian citizen will not allow someone who exploits religious feelings into the House of Representatives, he has had this experience before with the Brotherhood and it only reaped pain and ignited sedition.”
The Muslim Brotherhood connection
State-run newspaper Al-Akhbar published an article in which a number of political commentators and politicians accuse the Salafi Nour Party of being a “Trojan horse” that will allow the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate the parliament.
Doctor Abdel Rahim Ali, the head of the Arab Center for Research and Studies, is quoted as saying that the Salafis are a back door for the Brotherhood to enter parliament.
Ahmed al-Khayel, secretary-general of the Free Egyptians Party for South Giza, said that to vote for the Nour Party means that the Brotherhood will infiltrate the parliament, accusing the Salafi party of trading religion to achieve worldly goals.
Similarly, privately owned newspaper Al-Bawaba publishes an article claiming there is an alliance between the Brotherhood and the Nour Party to control the parliament.
However, the same paper also runs an article explaining how the Brotherhood is attempting to derail the elections by burning cars, planting bombs and attacking judges.
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