National Democratic Party (Egypt) al-Hurra, "The candidate [in 2011] of the National Democratic Party will be President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak... This is the will of the leadership of the party." Hilal stated that the announcement will only be officially made a month or two before the elections in the autumn of 2011. President Mubarak would be 83 at the time of the election and 89 at the end of another six-year term. The National Democratic Party of Egypt secured 420 of the 508 seats in the country's December 2010 elections for the lower house of parliament, the Majlis al-Shaab. The Muslim Brotherhood, which held
Hosni Mubarak had criticised his lack of action against Israel. Protests against Mubarak and his regime erupted in Cairo and other Egyptian cities in January 2011. On 1 February, Mubarak announced he would not contest the presidential election due in September. He also promised constitutional reform. This did not satisfy most protesters, who expected Mubarak to depart immediately. The demonstrations continued and on 2 February, violent clashes occurred between pro-Mubarak and anti-Mubarak protesters. On 10 February, contrary to rumours, Mubarak said he would not resign until the September election, though he would be delegating responsibilities to Vice President Omar Suleiman. The next