A final court ruling should end the legal debate over the leadership of the liberal Ghad Party. However, Mona El-Nahhas is not so sure In a final ruling issued last week, the Supreme Administrative Court decided not to recognise Ihab El-Kholi as the leader of the liberal Ghad Party, thus annulling a previous ruling passed by a lower administrative court in February 2009 in El-Kholi's favour. Moussa Mustafa Moussa, who has for years been battling for the party leadership, first with party founder Ayman Nour, then with Nour's successor El-Kholi, hailed the ruling as historic, saying it put an end to the long legal dispute over the party's leadership. However, Nour's camp has a totally different legal interpretation, with lawyer Abdel-Rehim Amr claiming the ruling did not recognise either El-Kholi or Moussa. "This simply means that the seat of the party chairman has become vacant, something which necessitates the election of a new chairman through fresh party polls," Amr told Al-Ahram Weekly. Nour's supporters have called for an emergency general assembly on 30 July to choose a new chairman. "Everyone knows quite well that the state is biased towards a certain group which serves the interests of the governing system," Nour said immediately after the ruling was passed. Moussa's 2005 attempt to oust Nour was widely viewed as orchestrated by the regime to undermine the Ghad, once a promising opposition party. Following the ruling, Moussa vowed to sue both Nour and El-Kholi if they use the name of the Ghad Party in their meetings or in any other political activities. Following the election of a new chairman Moussa will most likely appeal to courts contesting the holding of a would-be general assembly and accusing Nour's group of having no connection with his party. According to legal experts, the question of who does have legitimacy in the Ghad Party may take years to be resolved. "It's a vicious circle, I know. But, what can we do?" El-Kholi asked. "What they are saying about a vacant seat is nothing but sheer lies," Moussa told the Weekly. "For years, Nour and his group have been misleading both the public and media. Now, it's time to stop all such nonsense," Moussa said, adding that the ruling is clear and has just one interpretation: restoring legitimacy to the Ghad Party. Since 2005, the year when Nour finished second to President Hosni Mubarak in the country's first multi-candidate presidential polls, the party has been divided into one led by Nour and another by Moussa. In 2007, two years after Nour was sent to jail on a forgery charge, a ruling from Cairo Southern Court recognised Moussa as the party's legitimate leader. The court asked the Political Parties Committee, an affiliate of the Shura Council, to take the necessary measures towards implementing the ruling. The committee responded via a decree issued soon after, dealing with Moussa as the Ghad's sole chairman. Nour's side contested the decree issued by the Political Parties Committee in the Administrative Court on the grounds that the committee has no legal authority to pass such kinds of decrees. It claims its role is limited to receiving notices of political parties regarding who is elected party chairman. The prevailing view is should a power struggle erupt, the committee is to adopt a neutral stand until a settlement is reached either between the parties concerned or before the civil judiciary. Nour's constituency submitted to the administrative court the latest notice which was sent to the Political Parties Committee informing it that El-Kholi was elected as the Ghad chairman during a general assembly. The court in 2009 ruled in favour of El-Kholi, recognising him as the party leader. However, the Political Parties Committee did not implement the ruling, which was soon contested by Moussa before the Supreme Administrative Court. "The ruling passed in favour of El-Kholi was faulty and should have been abolished," Moussa said, adding that he was sure the Supreme Administrative Court would annul it. According to Moussa, the Supreme Administrative Court did not regard the decree passed by the Political Parties Committee as administrative. "It was an executive decree meant to implement the previous ruling passed by the Southern Cairo Court in my favour in 2007," Moussa said. "That's all. Game over." "The Ghad is venturing strongly into the political scene, especially after the final court ruling which stressed Moussa's legitimacy as the Ghad leader," said Ragab Helal Hemeida, a Moussa camp supporter. Hemeida revealed the party's intention to participate in both the parliamentary and presidential polls to be staged later this year and next. The court ruling was passed a few days after Nour was chosen by members of the higher committee of his constituency as the Ghad's next presidential candidate. According to Amr, "Nour has the legal cards which will enable him to overcome obstacles hindering him from running in the polls." Amr was reluctant to elaborate further. "We will reveal such cards in due time in order not to be taken by surprise by other obstacles placed in my way," Nour said. Asked about the effect of the latest ruling on his nomination as the Ghad's presidential candidate, Nour stressed that the ruling had nothing to do with nomination procedures. "The struggle over the seat of the party chairman does not mean that the party, as a political entity, lacks legitimacy. My plans for the candidacy have not in the least changed as a result of the ruling," Nour noted.
