In a merging move: Egyptian leftists finally united?

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Sat, 19 May 2018 - 01:00 GMT

BY

Sat, 19 May 2018 - 01:00 GMT

Member of Parliament at the Egyptian Parliament - Press Photo

Member of Parliament at the Egyptian Parliament - Press Photo

CAIRO – 19 May 2018: The leftist-oriented National Progressive Unionist Party, well-known as Al-Tagamou Party, announced its willingness to unite with liberal and left-wing parties such as Al-Wafd and the Congress Party to form the largest civil coalition in Egypt.

Al-Tagamou spokesperson Nabil Zaki told Egypt Today that his party hailed the calls made by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to parties’ chiefs to unite and put disputes aside for the sake of the country’s political arena.

Zaki stressed that Al-Tagamou has sought to establish a national coalition uniting all left-wing parties into one entity to support the Egyptian state against terrorism and extremism.

“Combating terrorism requires cultural and social confrontations, not only security,” Zaki told Egypt Today on Friday.

Parliament Speaker Ali Abdul Aal reaffirmed on various occasions the country’s need for political alliances and coalitions to represent the majority and opposition voices.

Al-Wafd Party is soon expected to announce the launch of talks with different civil and liberal parties to set up a political coalition under the Parliament’s dome.

Bahaa Abou Shoka, the newly-elected head of Al-Wafd Party, held consultations with heads of the Conservatives Party, Al-Tagamou and the Free Egyptians Party, well-informed sources told Egypt Today.

The sources revealed that the Conservatives Party had accepted the coalition’s idea with Al-Wafd, without further information about the merging mechanism between the two parties.

“According to the Constitution’s Article No. 5, the political pluralism is offered to ensure the circulation of power,” said Al-Wafd Party spokesperson Yasser al-Houdaiby.

Houdaiby noted that the incumbent Parliament does not include an opposition majority, which is dominated by independent parliamentarians. “Current political parties do not exercise opposition in the parliament,” he added.

“Wafd Party suggested having only three or four powerful parties instead of dozens of weak parties,” Houdaiby added.

Moussa Moustafa Moussa, chairperson of Al-Ghad party and former presidential candidate, gave rise to similar ideas when in April he called for the merger of all political parties into one alliance under the name “Entity of Egypt”.

Business tycoon Naguib Sawiris recently discussed in a tweet the possibility of the Free Egyptians Party’s merging, lamenting the current state of the party.

“What is happening in the [Free] Egyptian’s Party reminds me of the ‘Prince of Revenge’ movie… My heart aches watching the party I formed with high hopes crumble into this tear-shedding status,” the tweet reads.

The topic was also recently raised when, in April, Sawiris refuted on Twitter the merging of his party, the Free Egyptians Party, with Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party.




The Egypt’s Support parliamentary coalition, which holds around 400 of 597 seats in Parliament, announced in April its ambition to merge all the parties comprising the coalition into one unified party in order to “politically support the state.”

The Egypt’s Support coalition includes the Free Egyptians, Mostakbal Watan, Homeland Defenders, Republican Peoples and Conference parties, in addition to many independent members.

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