Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

A recent study issued by the US Institute of Peace revealed  that Article 76 of the Egyptian Constitution served to largely confine presidential candidacy to the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). According to the study, the NDP has traditionally monopolized political participation, hence the 23% low turnout during the 2005 presidential elections.

The study also asserted that Gamal Mubarak, son of President Hosni Mubarak, was set to inherit executive power from his father. In this event, the study found, the younger Mubarak's policies would most likely support current trends of "liberal reform" while further clamping down on domestic Islamic movements in an attempt to guarantee the semi-authoritarian regime's continuity.

According to the report , Egyptian decision-makers and US could not predict that regime policies would end up strengthening Islamic groups, especially the so-called "banned" Muslim Brotherhood (MB), which is considered Egypt's largest and most popular opposition group which has succeeded so far in securing 88 seats of the 444 parliamentary seats. Nevertheless, according to the study, the MB would not secure a victory even if allowed to field candidates in upcoming presidential elections

The study concluded by stating that  the regime's principal challenge was to implement democratic changes while simultaneously safeguarding national security amid rising popular discontent and deteriorating economic conditions.