Top opposition figure Mohamad ElBaradei called on Saturday for a boycott of Egypt’s upcoming parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood party, Essam el-Erian, criticized such calls by the opposi

Top opposition figure Mohamad ElBaradei called on Saturday for a boycott of Egypt's upcoming parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood party, Essam el-Erian, criticized such calls by the opposition.
As he compared the coming poll to the "sham democracy" of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, El-Baradei urged election boycott.

"Called for parliamentary election boycott in 2010 to expose sham democracy. Today I repeat my call; I will not be part of an act of deception," the Nobel Laureate, who is the coordination of the opposition National Salvation Front (NSF), wrote on his Twitter account.

In response, the deputy head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, Essam el-Erian, wrote on his Facebook page Saturday that “running away from a popular test only means that some want to assume the executive authority without a democratic mandate.”

Another NSF figure, former foreign minister Amr Mussa, said many members of the opposition coalition were inclined to boycott the four-round election, but a final position had not yet been taken.
"There is a large group that wants a boycott, but it has not yet been discussed, and no decision has been taken," he added.

For his part, Hamdeen Sabahi, another NSF figure, has said the opposition coalition could now win up to 50 percent of seats in parliament if it chose to contest the election.

Brotherhood and Islamist allies dominated the last parliamentary election in 2011 before Mursi's election last June.
The upcoming vote is scheduled to begin on April 27, with a new parliament to convene on July 6.

State television reported that the presidency was considering changing the starting date of the vote because it falls on a Christian holiday, after objections from the Coptic Church.

Leaders of the NSF, a coalition of liberal and secular leaning groups, have previously proposed a postponement of the vote, insisting president appoint a new government before the election while the presidency says the new parliament should have the right to appoint the cabinet.