Essam al-Erian and Saad al-Katatny cancelled a debate between the two candidates for the presidency of the Freedom and Justice Party, said an official with Erian’s campaign Sunday.
“This is an internal affair, not an executive state post,” said Erian spokesman Omar Gamal. “The party’s general conference is the place where everyone may debate.”
During a visit to Sharqiya, Erian said the party did not play its role because its members have been preoccupied with their work in parliament, promising to address that issue if elected president of the party.
Mohamed al-Beltagy, a member of the Freedom and Justice Party’s executive bureau, said on Sunday that he has resigned from the Brotherhood's executive bureau in order to work full-time for the party’s secretariat. He also declared his support for Erian in the race for party president.
Beltagy explained that he resigned because the party decided to separate the executive bureau from the general secretariat, and that he prefers to be secretary general in Cairo.
Farid Ismail, Ahmed Diab and Ali Ezz Eddin, the party secretaries in Sharqiya and Qalyubiya, also resigned.
Sources told Al-Masry Al-Youm that elections for the secretaries of the governorates are slated for the beginning of November.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
