16/5/2012

Just a few days before the presidential election, Ahmed Shafiq finds himself facing accusations of graft from the opportunist Wasat Party MP Essam Sultan. He claims that Shafiq sold thousands of acres of state land to Hosni Mubarak’s sons at reduced prices. This is clearly another attempt by Sultan to destroy Shafiq’s chances to win the election.

Attorney General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud should speed up the investigation into this matter quickly, so that Shafiq’s image will not be tarnished during the election. If it is proven that the allegations are false, Sultan’s parliamentary immunity should be revoked immediately and he should be tried for slander.

I am confident that parliamentary speaker, El Katatni, can do a better job of preventing MP’s from making accusations that negatively affect the parliament’s reputation. In the meantime, we can feel gratified that the attorney general has accelerated his investigation into the Abbasiya events and is giving us a picture of the role that Hazem Abu Ismail and his followers played in last week’s tragedy.

translated from Al-Akhbar