Marwan al-Ma'shar, former Jordanian prime minister and head of the Carter election monitoring mission in Egypt , said in meetings with the Salafi-led Nour Party and the Muslim Brotherhood, the leaders of the two groups promised Egypt will remain a civil state if their candidate, Mohamed Morsy, wins.
The Nour Party leaders, Ma’shar said, told him they believe Sharia should not be applied on people by force.
Ma'shar told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the military still plays a strong role in the political arena. He said the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces generals have managed to maintain power despite significant political successes of the Islamic parties.
Ma'shar said the US is dealing with the political changes in Egypt realistically. He expected that following the announcement of the new president, US-Egypt relations will go through stages of "correction" that could be sometimes "cold."
Ma'shar expected that Egypt will not cancel the peace treaty with Israel, but if relations were “cool” between Egpt and Israel before the revolution, in the next stage they would only be "colder."He also said Egypt is expected to stand against any attempt to launch war against Gaza or Lebanon.
Ma'shar said that Egypt's emerging political forces still need to develop organizations and programs for movement.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
