Islamist parties called on military Chief of Staff Sami Anan during a meeting on Saturday to end the state of emergency, apply the Treachery Law against former National Democratic Party (NDP) members, hand over power to a civilian government before June 2012, cancel Article 5 from the new elections law and allow members of political parties to run for single-winner parliamentary seats.
The meeting included Mohamed Morsy, chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, Imad Eddin Abdel Ghafour, chairman of the Salafi-led Nour Party, and Nasr Abdel Salem, chairman of Jama'a al-Islamiya's Construction and Development Party.
Freedom and Justice Party Secretary General Saad al-Katatny said his party accepted an invitation from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) for the National Democratic Alliance for Egypt – a coalition formed in early June in an attempt to heal the rift between Islamists and secularists – to present its demands.
In the meeting, the alliance demanded a timetable specifying when the upcoming parliament will be able to being its duties, the 100-member constituent assembly can start drafting a new constitution, and presidential elections will be held, Katatny said in a statement on Saturday.
Katany said the alliance also called on the SCAF to bear responsibility for restoring security and ensure that the police respect human rights and adhere to the law.
Abdel Salem said that more than 60 parties in the coalition agreed on these demands.
The Nour Party did not propose boycotting the upcoming parliamentary elections during the meeting, Abdel Ghafour said.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
