El Baradei's Boycott Campaign

Muhammad El Baradei is urging all groups in Egypt, including the Muslim Brotherhood, to boycott November's parliamentary elections:

"Mr ElBaradei, 68, who many see as a viable candidate for president in 2011, has been urging Egyptians to boycott the November elections unless the constitution is amended to restore local judicial supervision over elections. He also wants international monitors to observe elections and Egyptians living abroad to be able to vote.

"He believes engaging in elections under current laws would be giving the regime a legitimacy that he says it is desperate for but does not deserve.

"Mr ElBaradei’s National Association for Change (NAC) as well as the Muslim Brotherhood have been collecting signatures for a reform campaign. They have a joint website that says they have gathered 675,000 signatures so far.

"The petition lists seven demands, including allowing independents to run for president and lifting the country’s emergency laws, which critics say stifle dissent.

"Mr ElBaradei, a Nobel prizewinner and the former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he believes that the regime cannot ignore those demands if at least one million Egyptians sign the petition for reform."