The United States will respect Egyptian law

State Department Briefing, December 8
08 December 2005
State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli briefed the press

QUESTION: Egypt. The results of the elections are in now and the Muslim Brotherhood has won about a fifth of the seats in parliament. Previously, you hadn't been willing to comment on the Muslim Brotherhood, saying that the elections aren't over yet. Now they are, so can we have a comment? And specifically, the last time when the Secretary was in Egypt, she did not -- conspicuously did not meet with the Muslim Brotherhood or anybody there.

MR. ERELI: Right.

QUESTION: Now that they are becoming a very important political force in Egypt, are there plans for U.S. officials to do some sort of reach-out?

MR. ERELI: I don't want to speak to the final numeric results because I'll leave it to the Egyptians to speak to that. What I think is clear is that an unprecedented number of representatives not affiliated with the government party have been elected to Egypt's parliament, and this really is historic. Why? Because it represents a broadening of the representation, of representation of opposition and independent candidates in the Egyptian parliament and we think that that's going to have a substantial impact on political life in Egypt. And that's positive. That's a sign that pluralism and democracy has taken a step forward in Egypt.

I would note, however, that it's important to underscore that the process that led to this result remains flawed. There were numerous and widespread incidents of violence, harassment and intimidation, and that is of concern to us. You know, the latest images of violence between security forces and voters is disturbing. It's led to the death of eight people, including a 14-year-old boy. There are reports that Egyptian authorities closed or obstructed access to more than 20 voting stations in the latest round of elections. We've seen physical abuse of elections monitors and journalists and the harassment of opposition candidates and supporters.

So clearly there is cause for concern. It is something -- it is an issue that we have and will continue to raise with the Government of Egypt at the highest level in an effort to help the Government of Egypt and the institutions of Egypt fulfill the aspirations of the Egyptian people and meet the standards that they have set for themselves, standards for openness, transparency and respect for civil rights.

So I think that would be -- that's the best assessment I can give you of, at this point in time, of the three rounds of parliamentary elections that concluded yesterday.

QUESTION: Can I just follow up on that? Since you managed -- my question was about the Muslim Brotherhood and you managed not to mention the words "Muslim Brotherhood" in your response. I was wondering if I can rephrase the question and refocus it and get a specific -- because this is an Islamic organization. They do have ties to violence in the past. The U.S. has shunned them. They are now a force in Egypt and I think it is just a matter of reality what is the United States going to do?

MR. ERELI: The fact is and the best person to answer this would be an Egyptian government official, but the fact is that as the Muslim Brotherhood is outlawed as a political party, pursuant to Egyptian law that outlaws any party based on religious affiliation, and those candidates that you refer to as Muslim Brothers are elected as independent candidates, not affiliated with a party.

QUESTION: Okay. So does that mean the U.S. will deal with them?

MR. ERELI: They're independent candidates. There's no injunction against --

QUESTION: Does that mean the U.S. will deal with them?

MR. ERELI: There's no injunction that I'm aware of that prevents -- that would prevent that.

QUESTION: Just to again refocus just one more time. Are there any plans or any possibility of the United States reaching out to the Muslim Brotherhood as an organization, as a result of this?

MR. ERELI: The United States will respect Egyptian law.

QUESTION: Sean, another question on this. The U.S. communicated --

MR. ERELI: Whoa. He's the good-looking, smart one.

QUESTION: I'm sorry. It's the time zone difference.

MR. ERELI: Yeah.

QUESTION: I think I'm with the traveling party. Sorry about that. Adam, the U.S. communicated its concerns earlier in the week about the troubling aspects of the multi-round election Egypt. With the latest developments, have you communicated those concerns yet again?

MR. ERELI: Yes. We continue to communicate them both here and in Cairo. And it will be a continuing matter of engagement with the Government of Egypt.