Amr Moussa, former foreign minister and chairman of the 50-member committee which drafted the new constitution, announced on Monday that political forces had finally embarked upon forming a bloc to contest the parliamentary polls, reports Gamal Essam El-Din. Moussa said the grouping — expected to be called the Alliance of the Egyptian Nation — will not be confined to political parties but include workers' groups and public figures. The alliance is said to include the Wafd, Tagammu, Egyptian Social Democratic, Reform and Development, Geel (Generation) and Conservatives Parties. The General Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions (GEFTU), the Syndicate of Farmers and the Tamarod Movement have also signaled they will join. The Free Egyptians Party, founded by billionaire Naguib Sawiris, has said it will contest the polls alone. Amr Al-Chobaki and Emad Gad, two Al-Ahram political commentators, will draft the alliance's manifesto, says Moussa. Al-Chobaki told Al-Ahram Weekly that the alliance will seek a majority in the new parliament as a basis to implement “the new constitution's ideals about a civilian democratic state and respect of human rights”. “The members of the alliance,” Moussa said in Monday's announcement, “have vowed that their future actions will be guided by the new constitution. Political forces and affiliated factions will do their best to ensure that the new constitution is translated into legislation that enshrines its rights and freedoms.” “Those seeking to join the alliance must be committed to the principles of the revolutions of 25 January and 30 June -a civilian state, a functioning democracy and separating religion and politics,” said Al-Chobaki. “The manifesto will state clearly that there is no place for parties that mix religion with politics and will reject any coordination with corrupt symbols of the regimes of Hosni Mubarak and Mohamed Morsi. Mubarak's defunct ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood are both out of bounds.” The Muslim Brotherhood was declared a terrorist orgranisation in December. Already judicial orders have ruled that the assets of its political arm — the Freedom and Justice Party — must be sequestrated and the party dissolved. The salafist Nour Party also faces political extinction. A number of secular political activists have filed lawsuits demanding the party be dissolved for espousing a religious platform in violation of the new constitution. On Monday Cairo's Appeal Court for Urgent Matters ruled that leading officials of Mubarak's NDP could stand in parliamentary elections, overturning an earlier ban. The court argued that the new constitution only strips individuals of their political rights if a final judgment of criminal wrongdoing has been found against them. Hafez Abu Seada, Secretary-General of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR), said the court's verdict was expected. “The new constitution refrained from imposing political disenfranchisement, preventing the exercise of political rights only in cases in which a final judicial order has been issued.” The new alliance follows weeks of negotiations. “The manifesto of the new alliance will be revised by member parties and if everything goes okay it will besigned and endorsed by all,” said Moussa. A month ago Moussa had hoped to form an alliance including forces from across the political spectrum. Those ambitions were dashed when political parties refused to accept former leading figures from the NDP. The situation was further complicated by demands by the Wafd Party that its candidates top the alliance's lists of parliamentary candidates. Al-Chobaki says discussions over the alliance's manifesto will try to seek to establish a consensus over candidate lists. “We are still waiting for the new law redrawing electoral districts,” he points out. Under the House of Representatives law just 20 per cent of seats (120) will be contested by party-based candidates. The law also adopts closed party lists, meaning a winning list must secure at least 50 per cent plus 1 of the votes in any district. An alliance including former NDP and Mubarak regime officials is also being formed. The alliance includes the National Movement Party, founded by Mubarak's last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik, and the Misr Baladi (Egypt My Homeland) Front led by former interior minister Ahmed Gamaleddin. Former Shura Council member Salah Hassaballah told Al-Ahram Weekly that ideological differences had prevented them joining Moussa's alliance. “The Wafd Party, despite losing any popularity on the street, was intransigent,” claimed Hassaballah. “As a result Moussa was unable to bring political forces into a single bloc.” A third group, led by defeated presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, is also seeking to form an alliance. It includes the Socialist Popular Alliance, the Constitution Party, the Karama Party, the Justice Party and the Popular Current. Abdel-Ghaffar Shukr, Chairman of the Socialist Popular Alliance, said two obstacles still stand in the way of leftist and liberal forces merging. “The House of Representatives Law discriminates against party-based candidates, and new political parties have extremely limited funds,” says Shukr.
