Dr. Mohamed Saad Katatni from the Muslim Brotherhood's Executive Bureau and head of the parliamentary bloc strongly denied that the MB announced the names of its candidates in Egypt’s upcoming parliamentary elections as a response to an ongoing clampdown by security authorities against the group.

In an exclusive statement to "Ikhwanweb", Katatni stressed "Our actions are not random and decisions taken by the group have been studied carefully". He added that candidates’ names are preliminary, and the final list will be officially announced after candidates submit their nomination papers and the appeal period ends.

The MB has officially confirmed that female representatives of the Brotherhood will be nominated to compete in the elections. According to Katatni "the group appreciates the role played by women for the benefit of their society." He noted that the group found the elections an opportunity to involve women in the political process.

When asked about the harassment expected following the announcement of the candidates' names, Katatni asserted that "It is imaginable that an authoritarian government such as ours has no intention of conducting fair and transparent elections, hence it launches violent crackdowns and mass arrests in order to subvert the electoral process”.

Katatni maintained that the regime's continued crackdown including raids on the homes of innocent people, detentions, confiscation of private  property in addition to a host of other police harassments will not prevent the Muslim Brotherhood from performing its duty. He added “The security services has tried many times all possible means and abuses against dozens of MB members and has so far failed to effect or deter the group”.