Fotouh: Islamists won't be like NDP

Egyptian presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh stated that he hoped that not just one political faction would gain majority of the parliamentary seats in Egypt's elections. “I will be disappointed if one wing won 90 per cent of parliamentary seats, even they were Islamists,” he said.  Fotouh’s statement came during a seminar organised by Cairo University's media department, entitled “The Future of Egypt”. In the seminar, Fotouh discussed several points, such as the Egyptians' fear of Islamists. He said it was possible that the democracy could not reflect reality, as Egypt was still democratically callow, but at the same time people’s choice's choices had to be respected. In response to a question by the audience about whether the Islamists could turn out like the dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP), in case they won majority in parliament, Aboul Fotouh said “the dissolved NDP never won the majority in the parliament, as its victories were rigged and nobody voted for it.” Fotouh confirmed he had not been requested to form a national salvation government, but the Egypt's appointed prime minister Kamal El-Ganzouri requested Fotouh be his deputy, which he refused. He explained his deicions by saying he he didn't think he could be helpful to Egypt in the position. Meanwhile, Aboul Fotouh commented on Egypt- Israel relations and the gas export deal saying he would never accept relations that weren't in his country’s interest, saying: “The gas export deal is not in Egypt’s interest.”