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Opponents of Mursi aim to form single party
Source: Agencies |
December 24, 2012, Monday
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EGYPT'S opposition coalition said yesterday it was moving toward forming a single political party to challenge Islamists, whose more disciplined ranks have dominated the ballot box since last year's revolution.
Members of the opposition National Salvation Front, whose differences have split the non-Islamist vote, pledged to keep up the pressure on President Mohamed Mursi, including through peaceful protests.
Liberals, socialists and other factions that united under the banner of the Front campaigned unsuccessfully for a "no" vote in a referendum on a new constitution which, according to an unofficial tally by Mursi's Islamist backers yesterday, secured 64 percent approval on turnout of about a third of the 51 million eligible voters.
"The Front is very cohesive and the Front is in agreement that it will lead all battles together," Mohamed Abul Ghar, head of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party and a leading member of the Front, told a news conference after the referendum.
"Not only that, but the parties inside the Front have taken advanced steps to form a big party inside the Front," he said.
A statement from the Front said it had learnt "useful lessons" during the referendum. But it will have little time to organise, as a parliamentary election is due to be held in about two months.
Votes since the overthrow of autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak in February 2011 suggest Islamist support has slipped, but Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood is a potent political force with a grassroots network - built up over decades, even when it was repressed - that liberals cannot yet match.
The opposition says the constitution, passed after weeks of protests and violence, favours Islamists and ignores the rights of Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the population, and women.
Members of the opposition National Salvation Front, whose differences have split the non-Islamist vote, pledged to keep up the pressure on President Mohamed Mursi, including through peaceful protests.
Liberals, socialists and other factions that united under the banner of the Front campaigned unsuccessfully for a "no" vote in a referendum on a new constitution which, according to an unofficial tally by Mursi's Islamist backers yesterday, secured 64 percent approval on turnout of about a third of the 51 million eligible voters.
"The Front is very cohesive and the Front is in agreement that it will lead all battles together," Mohamed Abul Ghar, head of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party and a leading member of the Front, told a news conference after the referendum.
"Not only that, but the parties inside the Front have taken advanced steps to form a big party inside the Front," he said.
A statement from the Front said it had learnt "useful lessons" during the referendum. But it will have little time to organise, as a parliamentary election is due to be held in about two months.
Votes since the overthrow of autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak in February 2011 suggest Islamist support has slipped, but Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood is a potent political force with a grassroots network - built up over decades, even when it was repressed - that liberals cannot yet match.
The opposition says the constitution, passed after weeks of protests and violence, favours Islamists and ignores the rights of Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the population, and women.
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