CAIRO, EGYPT (BNO NEWS) — Thirteen Egyptian political parties have formed the National Coalition for Egypt to run in the upcoming September parliamentary elections, the Ahram newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The new coalition was launched at a ceremony at the headquarters of the Wafd Party. It was created in order to establish a parliament that represents all political factions and for the creation of a unity government.
The member parties include the Muslim Brotherhood’s new wing Freedom and Justice Party, the Wafd, El Ghad, El Adl, El Tagammu, El Nasserist, El Amal, El Wasat, El Nour, El Karama, El Tawheed El Araby and Masr El Horreya.
Refaat Said, head of the Tagammu Party, said that the National Coalition for Egypt will seek a democratic Egypt by implementing the values of the January 25 revolution: freedom, justice, democracy and equal citizenship.
“The coming period is the most important and crucial period in modern Egyptian history,” added Said. “It cannot be handled by one political force and requires intensive collaboration from different factions of the Egyptian society.”
The National Coalition for Egypt will push for achieving democracy, economic prosperity and national development for the North African country, beginning with the formation of a new parliament and Shura council and the drafting of a new constitution.
Also Tuesday, two new Egyptian parties, the Free Egyptians party and the Social Democratic party, submitted the necessary paperwork for their registration to the parties’ affairs committee.
On May 18, the Muslim Brotherhood submitted the required documents for the official recognition of its recently created “Freedom and Justice” as a political party. The Islamist group is one of Egypt’s most powerful political forces.
The Muslim Brotherhood, however, will not be the only Islamic political force in Egypt. The Salafists, who have been blamed for the recent sectarian violence in the country, are to establish Al-Nahda (Renaissance Party). Another Salafist party has also recently fulfilled the compulsory minimum number of members – 5,000 from at least 10 governorates.
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