Egyptian politicians open Twitter accounts

Egyptian politicians part of former President Hosni Mubarak's regime have opened Twitter accounts to interact with the public after being acquitted of post-revolution charges. Officials from the now-dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP) won a court ruling to allow them to take part in the upcoming Parliamentary elections, and political observers feel the move towards social media is the first step towards a return to Egyptian politics. However, Ihab el-Sherif, the son of Safwat el-Sherif, a leading NDP official and former Speaker of the Shura Council, has vociferously denied that his father is the owner of a new Twitter account claiming to be run by him.  He revealed that his father had instructed his legal team to file an official complaint for impersonating him and added, "investigators will handle the matter to show us who is behind this account." The first tweet on the account, claiming to be from el-Sherif hailed the court's decision to acquit him and said he would use the account to correct news reports. Twitter accounts for Ahmad Fathi Sorour, former Speaker of the now-defunct People's Assembly (House of Representatives); chief of presidential staff to Mubarak, Zakaria Azmi and Hussein Salem, the businessman who fled the country for London - have all been confirmed as authentic. Azmi has stated he is willing to work with President Mohammed Morsi, while Sorour's first tweet said he intended to use the account to communicate with the public and "reveal facts that have not been considered by anyone in these critical times." Some politicians say the development is "suspicious." Politics lecturer Amr Hesham Rabie from al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, told Arabstoday the phenomenon indicated that the NDP is preparing to enter elections "in cooperation with the Muslim Brotherhood and on condition of loyalty" to the group. He said attempts from former leaders to regain influence "should be combated." Researcher Ammar Ali Hassan described the move as "dangerous" and warned that former regime figures still have their supporters who could help them achieve success in an election. El-Sherif was been released on bail after spending 21 months in detention, while Azmi was recently acquitted of corruption charges. Surour was also acquitted of involvement in orchestrating the so-called Battle of the Camel in which a number of protesters were killed.