CAIRO – Egypt's main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, said Tuesday it will boycott upcoming parliamentary elections due to a lack of guarantees of a transparent process. “The decision of the Front, unanimously, is to boycott the elections,” member Sameh Ashour told reporters after a meeting of the NSF, which groups mainly liberal and leftists parties and movements. Ashour said the decision came after its demands, including the formation of a new government “to save the country”, had been ignored. He said the lack of guarantees for a transparent process also contributed to the coalition's decision. The NSF said it would also boycott a national dialogue called for by President Mohamed Morsi, which was to be aired live on television on Tuesday afternoon according to the presidency. The staggered parliamentary elections are due to begin on April 22 and end two months later. Mohamed ElBaradei, a prominent member of the Front and former head of the UN atomic agency, had issued his own boycott call on Saturday. “Called for parliamentary election boycott in 2010 to expose sham democracy. Today I repeat my call, will not be part of an act of deception,” the Nobel Peace laureate wrote on Twitter. The NSF also shunned a national dialogue called for by President Morsi aimed at putting in place “guarantees for the transparency and fairness of the elections.” – Agencies
