MP Essam Sultan of Egypt's centrist-Islamist Wasat Party issued a statement on Facebook on Thursday demanding that the People's Assembly (the lower house of Egypt's parliament) convene on Saturday to question Egypt's prime minister and interior minister over anticipated electoral fraud in favour of Mubarak-era minister and presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq.

The lawyer and Wasat Party founder also accused the information ministry of using state-owned media to promote Shafiq by depicting him as a "national hero."

Sultan went on to charge the interior ministry with adding the names of military and police personnel to voter registration records with a view towards bolstering Shafiq's electoral results. According to Egyptian electoral law, serving military and police personnel are barred from voting in national elections.

The Wasat Party MP had earlier accused Shafiq of corruption, saying that the presidential hopeful had exploited his previous position as head of Egypt's Young Air Force Officers Association by selling thousands of acres of state land – earmarked for the officers' association – to relatives of the former president at vastly reduced prices.

Shafiq denied the accusations, counter-charging Sultan with being an agent of Egypt's dismantled State Security apparatus and spying on revolutionaries at the height of last year's popular uprising.

Egypt's Parliament has temporarily suspended its activity until 26 May, two days after Egypt's first post-Mubarak presidential election.