“The days of canonizing the president of the party are over,” Mahmoud Abaza, leader of the opposition Wafd Party, said at a Wednesday rally in Kafr el-Shekh. “Now is the time for confrontation.”
“I’m proud to say that we have amended party regulations to allow more than one candidate to run for party president,” he declared, asserting that the Wafd served as a “model” for other opposition parties. “We have learned to agree to disagree.”
Abaza went on to attribute the party’s limited activity over the last four years to the fact that he had been busy solving problems left behind by his predecessor, Nomaan Gomaa. “We’ve had to deal with 28 lawsuits filed against us,” he noted.
“Our political program was devised by all members, not just by one man,” he added. “And the next party leader must adhere to it.”
“Every time we have differences, we resort to the party’s general assembly, which has the final say,” Abaza said, pointing out that the party had held five assemblies and three conferences within the last four years.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
