Bush and Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif on Wednesday.
As expected, Egypt got the thumbs up yesterday at the White House:
President Bush offered his unqualified support for Egypt’s political reform process Wednesday. “He said this is a very good move and it’s what we expect out of Egypt,” Prime Minister Ahmed Nazief said after their White House meeting.
“He didn’t question it, like so many skeptics around,” Nazief said in an Associated Press interview afterward.
“He said, ‘Make sure your elections set an example for other countries in the region,’ and I think that is good advice,” the prime minister said.
Egyptian opposition groups, however, have questioned whether the reforms are genuine becuase they give the ruling party a say over which independent candidates can run. Last week in Cairo, Nazief acknowledged that the upcoming election would “still be more of a referendum than an election.”
Law Makers last week passed legislation in Egypt to allow “multicandidate presidential elections” (a good place to start!).
A VIDEO OF THE PARLIAMENTARY SESSION IS HERE.
Update: Max Boot via Instapundit had this to say about the “cosmetic” changes he is seeing in Egyptian politics.
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