Registration of candidates’ names for the Orthodox Coptic Maglis el-Milli [Congregational Council] elections began last Thursday. The absence of the pope’s interference is not completely true. The Coptic opposition has had more than one legal confrontation with Pope Shenouda III in this regard. Dr. Mamdouh Bushra, a member of the National Specialized Councils, suggests giving symbols to all candidates, and to list candidates by priority in order of presenting papers, as is the case with all elections, not in alphabetical order. Kamal Zakher a prominent figure in the Coptic opposition stressed the fact that the council in its present state has no authority.