The annual conference of Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) was under way Saturday, as opposition groups held a parallel gathering to discuss accusations of fraud in the country's recent parliamentary elections, dpa reported.
Under tight security, thousands of NDP leaders and members gathered in Cairo to discuss party policies during the three-day long conference.
Some key media outlets, including the satellite network al-Jazeera, were denied permits to the conference. No specific reason was given for the ban.
In last month's elections, opposition groups' lost most of their seats in the lower house, while the NDP strengthened considerably its hold on power in the 518-seat People's Assembly.
Much of the party conference was closed to the public, with the notable exception of a policy address by Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, which broke little new ground.
"We cannot have a nuclear armed Iran and a nuclear armed Israel with Arabs in the middle taking cover," said Aboul-Gheit, restating a long-held Egyptian position on a nuclear-free Middle East.
The foreign minister also touched on the upcoming referendum on secession in southern Sudan and the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
President Hosny Mubarak, the 82-year-old who has ruled for nearly 30 years, is scheduled to address the conference in the evening.
Opposition group April 6 was conducting a gathering of its own, to coincide with the NDP conference. The grouping began its meeting with discussions on a proposal to establish a "shadow parliament," in light of the electorial fraud allegations.
Leading opposition figures were attending the meeting, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which failed to secure seats in the People's Assembly, though it was the second largest bloc in the lower house going into the elections.
Human rights groups said the election was rife with rigging that favoured the NDP, which won over 80 per cent of the vote.
The elections were seen as an indicator ahead of next year's presidential poll, when Mubarak is expected to run again for the office, if his ailing health does not stand in the way.
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