Strategic Assessment
The elections for the People’s Assembly in Egypt were held in three stages, between November 9 and December 9, 2005. The extent of the electoral blow sustained by the ruling National Democratic Party began to emerge already with the initial voting. By the end of the first round the Muslim Brotherhood had doubled its representation over the outgoing Assembly, where only seventeen “independent” delegates were identified with the movement. At this point the regime understood the need to halt the progress of the opposition and for this purpose tapped well-tried methods: mass arrests (more than 1600) of Brotherhood activists; security forces to restrict access to the voting booths; armed thugs to attack the Brotherhood members; and a campaign of slander and intimidation in the state-controlled media.