The liberal Wafd Party’s supreme authority decided Tuesday to endorse Amr Moussa for president, following a six-hour discussion.
The party had announced last month it would support presidential hopeful Mansour Hassan, the former head of the Advisory Council who later withdrew from the race.
Abdel Aziz al-Nahhas, the party’s assistant secretary general, said the party’s supreme authority and parliamentary bloc had to either endorse a presidential candidate or wait until other hopefuls express intent to run.
Nahhas added that party leader Al-Sayed al-Badawy said Moussa had asked for the party’s support.
The party also called a meeting for all political groups to be held Thursday at the Wafd’s headquarters to endorse Moussa.
Moussa served as Mubarak’s foreign minister from 1991 to 2001, and then as Arab League secretary general from 2001 until last May.
Young activists have repeatedly protested at Moussa’s campaign rallies, starting when he announced his intention to run for president at El Sawy Culture Wheel last March. These disturbances eventually prompted Moussa to issue a statement in May accusing “rioters” of concocting a plan to disrupt his campaign.
In March, the Wafd Party announced its support for Moussa, then stepped back from the decision when Hassan said he would run.
Last month, Hassan said he would not run for president because of a lack of support due to divisions between and within political forces. The former minister under Anwar Sadat explained that after reassessing the circumstances, he realized he would not be able to achieve the political consensus he believes in.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
