The opposition will boycott the presidential elections

This just in: Egypt's parliament has passed a controversial constitutional amendment scorned by opposition MPs who walked out in protest. The amendment, proposed by President Hosni Mubarak, will allow multi-candidate presidential elections for the first time in Egypt. Opposition parties and groups aligned with the banned Muslim Brotherhood walked out of the parliamentary session in protest, saying the amendment was inadequate. Meanwhile, the Egyptian movement for change, Kifaya, announced its decision to boycott the presidential elections. On Tuesday, the movement also called for the launch of a political agitation and urged the Egyptian people to boycott the referendum on the constitutional amendment. The leader of the opposition alliance, Khalid Muhyi al-Din, said he had withdrawn himself as a presidential candidate. In a related development, the leader of the opposition Nasserite Party suspended party MP Haydar Baghadadi for supporting the controversial amendment in violation of the party line. What's the reason? The opposition says the text contains conditions that will make it almost impossible for opposition political groups to nominate candidates, and effectively shuts out independents. No word yet on whether or not Nour is also boycotting this election, but if he does, Mubarak will run unchallanged, which will make the election look like the sham that it is , which is something he really doesn't want. So, weirdly, Nour maybe doing Mubarak a favor. The squaredance continues. This is getting really Interesting!