Hundreds of Egyptians gathered at former President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s mausoleum on Friday to commemorate the 42 anniversary of his death.
In attendance were Nasser’s children, his former secretary Samy Sharaf and the leaders of various political parties.
Nasser died on 28 September 1970. He is well known for his nationalist policies and version of pan-Arabism, also referred to as Nasserism, which won a great following in the Arab World during the 1950s and 1960s.
Coinciding with today’s anniversary, four Nasserist parties to officially declare they merge into one political party. Abdel Hakim Abdel Nasser, the son of the late president, is expected to read the party’s statement in front of his father’s grave.
The agreement to unite forces was signed earlier this month by the head of the Arab Democratic Nasserist Party, Sameh Ashour; head of the Karama Party, Mohamed Sami; head of the National Conciliation Party, Mahmoud Refaat; and head of the Popular Congress Nasserist Party, Salah al-Desouki.
The parties’ intention in signing the statement was not to form an alliance for the upcoming parliamentary elections, Suleiman told Al-Masry Al-Youm, because the process of merging the parties together will likely not be completed by then. Leaders agreed that each party would run in the election independently.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
