Divisions within the Nour Party, now Egypt’s largest religiously-oriented political party, have deepened after an undeclared general assembly renewed confidence in the current board led by Younis Makhyoun late Saturday.
A member of the party, who asked not to be named, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the party had frozen some memberships over objections to the board’s candidate selection policies.
He added that the general assembly was held without inviting media outlets or declaring it in advance, since the party’s leadership was concerned with divisions among party members.
The member pointed to disagreements among Nour Party members over whether the party has to adopt opposing stances to the current government, as well as another rift over the party’s recent support for the appointment of new Justice Minister Ahmed al-Zend
Muslim Brotherhood activists in detention are also a source of contention, the member added, noting that some of his colleagues believe those detainees deserve solidarity, whereas some Nour Party leaders fear exposure and embarrassment if that were to happen.
The party’s media secretary, Nader Bakkar, told Al-Masry Al-Youm he had no idea he was required to invite media outlets to the general assembly.
Salah Abdel Maaboud, a member of Nour Party’s supreme board, said the assembly discussed some internal party issues, adding there was no need to invite reporters to cover the event since the media committee made a statement on its details.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
