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Muslim Brotherhood elects council

Arab World Materials 22 December 2009 19:08 (UTC +04:00)
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's main opposition group, has elected a new governing body.
Muslim Brotherhood elects council

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's main opposition group, has elected a new governing body, Aljazeera reported.

Most of the 16 members of the new Guidance Bureau, announced on Monday, are said to be conservatives.

The vote was carried out amid deep division between the group's conservatives and reformists who call for more flexibility in the group's stances towards internal and foreign issues, such as holding a dialogue with the US.

The wing now dominating the movement is more focused on religious aspects and is not in touch with the political reality on the ground, Amr Shoubaky, an analyst with the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, told the AFP news agency.

He said divisions within the party are likely to "lessen the brotherhood's political weight and weaken its participation in the 2010 parliamentary elections".

Mohamedd Mahdi Akef, the group's chairman whose term ends on January 13, said: "The Muslim Brotherhood group members have suffered during the past few weeks from several incidents, contradictory statements and the general atmosphere that had prevailed."

The new governing body excludes several key members considered to be moderates.

Mohammed Habib, the group's deputy leader, and Abdel Moneim Abul Futuh, a reformist, were not elected.

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