Four Egyptian political parties,
including one formed by billionaire Naguib Sawiris, said they may form a
coalition to compete against the Muslim Brotherhood in parliamentary elections
in September.
The plan was announced at the first
public debate between the parties since a revolt that toppled president Hosni
Mubarak in February after 30 years in power. Previously the Brotherhood, which
was suppressed by Mubarak’s now-dissolved National Democratic Party, was the
country’s biggest opposition group.
“We have to form a coalition,”
Sawiris, chairman of mobile-phone operator Orascom Telecom Holding SAE and a
founder of the Free Egyptians Party, said to resounding applause from about
1,000 people who crammed a hotel hall in Cairo late Saturday. “We have to work
the silent majority. The dangerous thing is that the Brotherhood has the
majority of people who are active.”
The Brotherhood, which is banned
from standing as an overtly religious group, plans to run as the Justice and
Freedom Party. While its manifesto professes to be based on equal rights, the
Brotherhood has said it won’t nominate or back either a woman or a Coptic
Christian for president. A survey released last month by Pew Research Center’s
Global Attitudes Project found that about 60 percent of Egyptians want domestic
laws to “strictly follow” the teachings of the Koran, Islam’s holy book.
Mubarak resigned on February 11
after 18 days of mass rallies, handing power to the military, which suspended
the constitution and announced plans to hold parliamentary and presidential
elections this year.
During Mubarak’s rule, setting up
any political party required the approval of a committee headed by members of
the ruling NDP.
The Brotherhood, formed in 1928,
fielded candidates in elections as independents to skirt a ban on its
activities, winning about one-fifth of parliament seats in 2005 even during a
heavy government crackdown. Its ability to mobilize support from largely
conservative Egyptian communities is forcing other parties, such as the one
formed by Sawiris, a Christian, to vie for supporters ahead of the elections.
“We are facing an organised power
that has been out there for 80 years,” he said. “We want to tell them that, if
you believe in democracy as the future of Egypt, then we are ready for this
battle.”
Dozens of men and women formed long
queues in the street to attend the moderated debate at the Shepherd Hotel in
downtown Cairo, with some climbing 15 flights of stairs to avoid the lines in
front of elevators. Supporters of each party were handing out campaign leaflets
to the audience, an act that could have landed them in prison under Mubarak.
Many people huddled together on the floor of the hall to listen to the politicians
explain their parties’ platforms.
“Islam and Christianity are based on
freedom, equality and justice,” said Mohamed Aboulghar, leader of the Egyptian
Social Democratic party. “A man is equal to a woman and a Muslim is equal to a
Christian. There is no difference between any two Egyptians.”
The idea of an alliance between the
four parties appealed to some of the attendees, such as Sameh Yusri, a
28-year-old psychiatrist. “I am for them to form a coalition but not to become
one party,” he said in an interview.
The groups, which also included the
Democratic Front Party and the Justice Party, said they have gathered thousands
of members and are setting up premises across the most populous Arab country.
Still, some of the participating
politicians appeared keen not to alienate religious voters. “The Justice party
is the party of moderation,” said leader Moustafa El Naggar. “We don’t want
Islamist groups and we don’t want the Western perception of democracy, which
doesn’t suit Egyptians.”
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