Presidential hopeful Amr Moussa fiercely criticized the April 6 Youth Movement Wednesday, saying its members want to “spread chaos” and destroy Egypt.
“They are supporters of corruption and division. They want to halt production,” Moussa said at a campaign rally Wednesday in the village of Ezbet al-Saayda in Minya Governorate.
Participants then chanted against instability.
Moussa vowed to amend the mistakes of former governments, develop Upper Egypt, establish a bank to help farmers obtain loans and pay more attention to laborers.
On the same day, the April 6 Youth Movement harshly attacked Moussa and presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq, calling them members of the former Mubarak regime and saying it would be a step backward if either of them win the election.
In a press conference later in the day, April 6 announced it would form a campaign to convince Egyptians not to vote for Moussa or former Prime Minister Shafiq.
Mohamed Afify, the movement’s spokesperson, said: “We will fight Moussa and Shafiq with all our strength. If either assumes power, we will not let him rule Egypt without [feeling] popular pressure.”
The group said it would not endorse a specific candidate, since hopefuls Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh, Hamdeen Sabbahi, Hesham al-Bastawisi, Khaled Ali and Abul Ezz al-Hariry failed to unify around a consensus candidate.
Ahmed Maher, the movement's general coordinator, said Moussa has not made clear his stance on the government corruption that occurred prior to the 25 January revolution.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
