On Monday, US Ambassador, Margaret Scobey, repeated the US Department's calls for transparency during Egypt’s parliamentary elections, stressing the significance of international monitoring with international monitors.
 
Egyptian prime minister, Ahmed Nazif, rejected the calls for international overseeing, alleging that Egyptian NGOs were sufficiently competent to ensure the integrity of the elections.
 
In a related report, the Egyptian government opposed the US Department's International Religious Freedom Report released last Wednesday, describing it as harsh and critical. It stressed that the US has no right to make such evaluations.