Members of presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq’s campaign have said it plans to launch a new political party regardless of the election results scheduled to be announced Thursday, a high-ranking campaign official said.
The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said the campaign secretaries in all governorates have unanimously agreed to establish the new party.
He said the party would submit a formal request to the Political Parties Affairs Committee in the next two months, as the campaign has settled on the list of party founders.
Campaign secretaries in different governorates will meet with campaign leaders by the end of the week to agree on the basic structure of the party, adding that it was still unnamed.
The party would have both a liberal and religious makeup to attract different people to one political entity. It would aim to articulate a new vision of serving the country with new blood and ensuring communication among all generations, the campaign official said.
The source said the party would “offer new politicians to the political scene who will represent younger generations.”
“We know that we will face strong resistance from some active groups in the political arena, but we are ready to play in the political field with professionalism, and we will not give in to any plot against the new party,” the source said. “We are sure that there are millions of Egyptian citizens who [want] to join us.”
Shafiq, a Hosni Mubarak-era minister, trails behind Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsy, according to unofficial election results.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
