Egypt opposition parties to boycott poll

Two of Egypt's opposition parties have announced they will boycott presidential elections in September, accusing the government of despotism and obstructing political reforms. Aljazeera's correspondent in Cairo reported on Tuesday that the leftist Tagammu party and the Arab Nasiri party decided to boycott the Egyptian presidential election scheduled for 17 September.

While the boycott decision by the Tagammu party includes both the nomination of candidates and voting, the leader of the Arab Nasiri party said the group will not get involved in an election process that it calls a "sordid hoax". Rifaat el-Said, secretary-general of the Tagammu Party, told a news conference: "We don't want to be bit actors in a play the outcome of which is known in advance."

Dumb move on their part. I don't quite get this Middle Eastern penchant for boycotting elections. If you don't play, you don't win. Even if you lose, you still get points, and you might find you can play the points later.