In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood "has shown an increased interest in participation in the political process since 2003. While the movement had been intermittently active in electoral politics in the past, its recent participation has been more substantial and far more successful, the result of a considerable organizational and planning effort. In 2005, the Muslim Brotherhood won almost 20 percent of the seats of the People’s Assembly (lower, directly elected chamber of the Egyptian parliament), becoming the strongest opposition movement challenging Mubarak’s semiauthoritarian regime. Overcoming the obstacles created by a highly restrictive domestic political scene and its status as a banned organization since 1954, the Brotherhood has fashioned in recent years a political platform prioriti