Eight opposition political parties and prominent figures have formed an alliance to contest the upcoming House of Representatives elections.
In a press conference following a closed-door meeting of alliance members at the Wasat Party headquarters on Tuesday, Wasat head Abul Ela Mady said the coalition aims to eliminate Egypt’s current state of division and polarization.
Additional liberal and leftist parties may still join the coalition, he noted.
The alliance is composed of the Wasat, Hadara, Ghad al-Thawra, Fadila, Asala, Strong Egypt, Reformation and Renaissance, and Egyptian Current (Al-Tayyar al-Masry) parties. Former MP and head of the Alexandria Judges Club Mahmoud al-Khodairy and former head of the Constituent Assembly’s system of governance committee Gamal Gebril are among the alliance’s prominent members.
The coalition leaders have agreed to form two committees; the first will develop a political and electoral platform for the new alliance and choose its name, and the second will set the qualifications for coalition candidates, Mady said.
The alliance will nominate popular figures like Abdel Ghaffar Shokr and Khodairy, who will be difficult to defeat in their respective constituencies.
Mady said he expects the alliance to win a significant number of seats in the House of Representatives.
Hadara Party head Hatem Azzam said the alliance aims to form a balanced national front, similar to the one established in the first days of the 25 January revolution, which included all political groups.
Khodairy said the alliance would be the nucleus of a larger political coalition. He ruled out the possibility of internal disputes over how to distribute party candidates on coalition lists, contending that the alliance includes moderate parties that look out for Egypt’s interests above all else.
Egyptian Current Party leader Islam Lotfy said his party rejects the polarization that currently prevails in Egyptian society, adding that the alliance will not antagonize any other political forces.
Mohamed Mahsoub, a former parliamentary affairs minister and Wasat Party leader, said the alliance ensures that women, youths and Copts will be represented in the coming Parliament.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
