Source: January 30

Amidst the turmoil in Egypt, it is important for the United States to remain focused on the interests of the Egyptian people as well as the legitimacy and stability of the Egyptian government.

Only free and fair elections provide the prospect for a peaceful transfer of power to a government recognized as legitimate by the Egyptian people. We urge the Obama administration to pursue these fundamental objectives in the coming days and press the Egyptian government to:

• call for free and fair elections for president and for parliament to be held as soon as possible;
• amend the Egyptian Constitution to allow opposition candidates to register to run for the presidency;
• immediately lift the state of emergency, release political prisoners, and allow for freedom of media and assembly;
• allow domestic election monitors to operate throughout the country, without fear of arrest or violence;
• immediately invite international monitors to enter the country and monitor the process leading to elections, reporting on the government's compliance with these measures to the international community; and
• publicly declare that Hosni Mubarak will agree not to run for re-election.

We further recommend that the Obama administration suspend all economic and military assistance to Egypt until the government accepts and implements these measures.

The Working Group on Egypt is a nonpartisan initiative bringing substantial expertise on Egyptian politics and political reform, and aimed at ensuring that Egypt’s elections are free and fair and open to opposition candidates.