By AFP
CAIRO: Egypt on Wednesday sharply rejected US criticism of the way its parliamentary election was conducted, calling it “unacceptable interference” in the country’s domestic affairs.
Foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said US statements on Sunday’s poll only reinforced the view that Washington had adopted “negative and predetermined stances towards” the election.
The US comments “contained clear misconceptions and claims” and were “an unacceptable interference in the country’s domestic affairs,” Zaki was quoted as saying by the official MENA news agency.
The White House said Tuesday it was “disappointed” with how the elections were carried out and described the reports of numerous voting procedure irregularities as “worrying.”
The US State Department raised similar concerns the day before, saying it was dismayed by reports of interference, intimidation and other problems in the election.
Egypt is a key regional ally of the United States and one of the top beneficiaries of US foreign aid.
Zaki said the US criticism ran “totally counter to the fierce competition that existed and the equal opportunities provided to all political forces.”
In Sunday’s election, the ruling National Democratic Party won 209 of 221 seats in the first round of voting, while the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned but tolerated main opposition party, failed to win a single seat outright.
The Islamists, who fielded 130 candidates after more than a dozen were disqualified and at least 1,200 supporters were arrested, denounced the election as “rigged and invalid.”
Human rights groups have also stated that the vote was marred by widespread violence and fraud. –AFP
