Frontrunner for the position of Egypt's parliamentary speaker Saad El-Katatni has said one of the incoming parliament’s priorities would be defending the rights of those who were injured and killed during the revolution.

Secretary-general of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), El-Katatni was quoted in the daily Al-Shark Al-Awsat as saying that “all parliamentarians would cooperate to fulfil the demands of the Egyptian population.”

“The parliament will also work with the [ruling] military council to hand over power [to a civilian administration],” he said.

On Monday, representatives of various political parties met at the FJP's Cairo headquarters where they agreed that the two deputy speakers should be nominated by the parties that came second and third in Egypt’s soon to be concluded legislative polls, namely the Salafist Nour Party and the liberal Wafd Party.

Some parliamentarians have, however, objected to this proposal, and have also voiced objection to the nomination of El-Katatni.

El-Badri Farghali from the Tagammu Party said the head of the parliament must have a legal background and also be supported by the entire parliament.  

El-Katatni is a botanist and taught botanical micobiology at Minya University.