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Egypt's opposition groups unite
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-14 09:38
Opposition movements from across Egypt's political spectrum joined in
opposition to President Hosni Mubarak Wednesday with calls for a boycott of
September's presidential vote — heralded by the government as a major step in
democratic reform.
Egypt's often fractious opposition made show of unity at Wednesday's meeting,
which launched National Coalition for Democratic Transformation. The leader of
the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest and oldest Islamic group, stood together
with secular activists and leftists.
"We call from here, from this gathering, all the political forces to boycott
the elections," said Yehia El-Gamal, a Cairo University professor of
constitutional law, and one of the leading figures of the coalition.
Egypt will hold it first multi-candidate elections in September, which
Mubarak says will bolstering Egyptian democracy. But opponents say Mubarak, who
has been in power since 1981, is not about to jeopardize his hold on power by
allowing fair competition.
"Suffering from oppression, despotism and absence of freedom is uniting us,"
said Brotherhood leader Mohammed Mahdi Akef. "We are not calling for a
revolution, we're calling for right and peace, to establish freedom."
Akef's deputy Mohammed Habib said: "Why don't we all join forces under one
banner? That will happen, God willing. We have common ground and will seek to
reach an agreement."
The coalition will be headed by former prime minister Aziz Sedqi and included
judges and intellectuals of different ideologies. The Brotherhood and the reform
movement Kifaya attended to show their support.
The formation of the coalition was announced last month.
Police cars lined the road to the Lawyers Syndicate where the group held its
first meeting. More than 2,000 people filled the hall and spilled into the
outside garden where two huge screens were erected. Opposition figures barely on
talking terms before sat next to each other at the podium.
The mainstream Egyptian movement for change known as Kifaya was the first to
say come out against the 77-year-old Mubarak and the possibility that his son
Gamal would succeed him.
Voting in upcoming elections "would give new legitimacy for a defunct
regime," said George Ishak, a leading member of Kifaya.
Instead, he called for all forces to join hands to protest over a "forged
referendum" — the May national vote for a constitutional amendment which was
passed to pave the way for multi-party candidates.
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