The Islamic Jama’a al-Islamiya has begun determining the number of members within the group nationwide in preparation for the group’s General Assembly elections slated for later this week, said Sheikh Abdel Akher Hamad, head of the group’s election supervision committee.
Hamad told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the elections will be held simultaneously across the country and will begin with village elections followed by city elections and finally governorate elections. Hamad went on to say that anywhere from one to three members — according to the number of members in each governorate — would be selected from each governorate to form what is known as the General Assembly. The General Assembly would then be responsible for selecting members of the group’s new Shura Council and leader.
Hamad explained that the Shura Council would consist of nine members and would be responsible for implementing the group’s policies during the coming period. He added that about 30,000 members would be taking part in the elections and that several members of the present Shura Council have expressed their desire to take on a consultative role rather than to run again as candidates.
Hamad said there were indications that the group’s members want to replace the group’s existing leaders with experienced members from younger generations, in hopes that the new blood would rejuvenate the group after three decades of stagnation.
Hamad explained that the elections would be supervised by civil society organizations, as the group believes that the broader society has the right to follow the group’s first public elections.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
