"A secret vote is to be held inside the guidance bureau,” Abu Al-Fitouh

By Abdul Raheem Ali, IOL Staff

CAIRO, January 12 (IslamOnline.net) – The Muslim Brotherhood is to hold a secret vote for choosing the new guide-general of the group, in an unprecedented move against earlier decisions to fill the post through referendums, a leading member told IslamOnline.net Monday, January 12.

The spiritual leader of the group, Mamoun el-Hodaibi died early Friday, January 9, at the age of 83, pushing the issue of succession to the fore.

"A secret vote is to be held inside guidance bureau, which means that any of its 16 members could be elected to the post," said Abdel-Moneim Abu Al-Fitouh, a member of the group’s Guidance Bureau.

The statements put an end to wide speculations over the way the coming general guide would be chosen.

"The winner should secure more than 50 percent of the votes, and options are open to a run-off," Abu Al-Fitouh said.

The move marks a change from the way el-Hodeiby – the sixth guide-general and his predecessors - was chosen for leading the outlawed movement in October 2002.

When Mustafa Mashhour went into a coma, el-Hodaibi – then working as acting guide-general – took over the helms of the banned but tolerated opposition group across referendum by the bureau.

According to the new vision, predictions are no longer limited to one candidate in the elections, that must be held within two months, according to the rules of the group.

Observers say the election could have been a good chance for a younger generation to end the elders' traditional domination of the Arab world's oldest Islamic political group.

The group never admits there are rifts among its members but sources inside the group and experts say that the two wings, the traditionalists and the reformists, may seek a compromise, with no dramatic changes likely, Reuters said.

The elders, it added, come from a background of confrontation with the state and have emphasized social and religious activism over party politics. The younger generation, who are between their mid-forties and mid-fifties, say the time has come for fuller participation in the country's political life.

The Brotherhood has already announced Mohamed Helal, 84, as acting guide-general until the election of a new leader, but the group's spokesman Essam Eryan said Helal was unwilling to be nominated for the permanent post.

Experts said that lack of such charismatic leader as el-Hodaibi among the so-called old guards is something that has been expected to raise divisions among members of the group.

"So, there will be different - yet contradictory - views over who is the best to take up the post,” said Diaa Rashwan of Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

Other members of the group put up confidence to stress a smooth transition of leadership, saying that all options are open and no one has been handpicked for the post.

Obstacle

Abu Al-Fitouh deemed it difficult to allow members of the group's Shura council, citing security reasons.

"Holding genuine elections in which the Shura Council would make a contribution and vote for what they find the best to take over – according to the laws of the group – is difficult thanks to security reasons," he said.

The Muslim Brotherhood member gave no further details, only citing that most members of the council were arrested by Egyptian security forces and sentenced to prison for long terms after they met in 1995.

Abu Al-Fitouh urged all national powers and media outlets to allow the group hold "free and democratic" elections, and said that the group is rather a "political and social entity where vote procedures would have an impact on all Egyptians.