Egypt bans religious slogans in parliamentary elections

With the parliamentary elections drawing close, the Egyptian government issued a resolution that bans all parties from using religious slogans in campaign in what was perceived as a direct provocation towards the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

The Higher Election Committee issued Sunday a statement imposing several restrictions on candidates while conducting their campaigns in preparation for the upcoming parliamentary elections on November 28.

According to the statement, of which AlArabiya.net obtained a copy, candidates are obliged to preserve the national unity of Egypt and not to use any slogans or symbols that have a religious reference. Candidates are also not allowed to use places of worship to garner support from voters.

Other restrictions included that candidates should refrain from alluding to the private life of their competitors, basing their campaigns on race or gender discrimination, and using educational institutions in their campaigning.

Head of the Higher Election Committee, Abdul-Aziz Omar, said the committee will monitor the slogans used by candidates and will cross out the names of those who use religious symbols.

“The committee will submit to the Supreme Administrative Court the names of candidates who violate the regulations and the court will issue an immediate ruling.”

Omar explained that the timing of the ruling determines how the election process goes. If the ruling to cross out the candidate’s name is issued before the poll starts, election in his/her constituency takes place between the remaining candidates.

If the ruling is not issued by the time the poll starts, the election process takes its normal course without crossing out the candidate’s name. However, if this candidate gets a number of votes that makes him/her a winner or qualified for a rerun, the committee has the right to stop the announcement of the results until the court issues its ruling.

The committee will submit to the Supreme Administrative Court the names of candidates who violate the regulations and the court will issue an immediate ruling

Higher Election Committee head Abdul-Aziz Omar

Muslim Brotherhood motto

The new restrictions are seen as directly targeting the Muslim Brotherhood whose slogan is “Islam is the solution.” However, the outlawed Islamist group is adamant on using the same slogan in the November elections, said Dr. Rashad Bayoumi, Muslim brotherhood Deputy Supreme Guide.

“Our slogan is legal and is in line with the Egyptian constitution which states that Islam is the major source of legislation,” he told AlArabiya.net.

Bayoumi argued that these new regulations are not applied to all candidates and that members of the ruling National Democratic Party use Islamic slogans in their campaigns.

“In the midterm elections of the Consultative (Shura) Assembly, candidates wrote verses from the Quran on their banners and used Islam to serve their personal interests.”

Bayoumi pointed out that the Brotherhood obtained in 2007 a ruling from the Supreme Administrative Court to the effect that “Islam is the solution” is not a religious slogan.

“According to the ruling the slogan is historical, cultural, and constitutional.”

Bayoumi added that the value of the slogan exceeds its wording as it sums up the ideology of the group.

“This slogan reflects the identity of the Brotherhood and if we changed it will still revolve around the same idea.”

The slogan, he said, mirrors the group’s call for reformation and links this mission to the essence of Islam as a religion.

“Islam encourages us to exert our utmost effort to achieve this reformation,” he concluded.

(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid).

Our slogan is legal and is in line with the Egyptian constitution which states that Islam is the major source of legislation

Muslim Brotherhood Deputy Supreme Guide Dr. Rashad Bayoumi