A judicial committee on Sunday approved the establishment of the liberal Freedom Egypt Party, formed by independent MP Amr Hamzawy, state-run news agency MENA reported.
The Political Parties Affairs Committee, which is responsible for authorizing new political parties, said Hamzawy had presented the committee with formal notification about the party’s establishment after fulfilling the legal requirements and filing the necessary papers.
The Freedom Egypt Party is the newest liberal party, founded by a group of young, liberal Egyptians along with Hamzawy, the elected MP from Heliopolis.
The party principles focus on the right to a dignified life and equality for Egyptians regardless of color, gender or religious beliefs. It also calls for freedom and democracy.
Under the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak, would-be parties rarely made it past the Political Parties Affairs Committee, which comprised Mubarak-appointed executives rather than judges. It consisted of the head of the Shura Council, Egypt’s upper house of Parliament, as well as the interior, justice and parliamentary affairs ministers, and three judges.
After the 25 January revolution, the law was changed so that its members were merely judicial figures. The committee has since approved about 40 political parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, the first political party to be legalized after the revolution.
