There's no shortage of options for former NDP members looking for a new home, writes Gamal Essam El-Din Ousted president Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP) was dissolved by Supreme Administrative Court order on 16 April 2011. NDP former senior officials subsequently managed to establish six new parties, the so- called NDP off-shoots, and four former senior NDP officials are currently petitioning for yet more parties. They espouse the same market-led economic ideology that had been embraced by the Mubarak regime. Following April's break up of the NDP senior party members of its secretariat-general and the upper consultative house of Shura Council established the Egyptian Citizen Party, attracting many of the one-time ruling party's MPs. Mohamed Ragab, a former NDP Shura Council spokesman and its last secretary-general before the party was dissolved in April, appears to have been the Egyptian Citizen Party's driving force. Among its members are former NDP MP Nabil Louka Bibawi, a Coptic businessman, Nabil El-Daqaq, chairman of the NDP's office in Alexandria and Nabih El-Alkami, a member of the NDP's secretariat-general. Other NDP MPs, most with a much lower profile, opted to join the Horreya (Freedom) Party. Some belong to old parliamentary families or were former security officers or businessmen recruited by the NDP. Many enjoy strong tribal and family connections in their former constituencies. A third group of former MPs -- mostly businessmen from Cairo and Alexandria -- opted to join the Modern Egypt Party of Ittihad (Union). Former NDP MPs from the Delta governorates joined the ranks of the National Egypt (Masr Al-Qawmi) Party, founded by Talaat El-Sadat, a nephew of late president Anwar El-Sadat. The NDP off-shoots already licensed by the Political Parties Committee or by judicial orders are: The Horreya Party: Established by Mamdouh and Moetaz, sons of late construction tycoon Mohamed Mahmoud Ali Hassan who served as NDP parliamentary spokesman in the 1990s and as chairman of the People's Assembly Housing Committee. Mamdouh Hassan is the chairman of the party. His brother Moetaz heads the party's secretariat for organisational affairs. The Horreya Party claims 15,000 members, concentrated in Upper Egypt, particularly around Qena and Luxor. It was licensed by judicial order on 17 July 2011 after earlier attempts to secure official recognition were rebuffed by the Political Parties Committee (PPC). The party plans to field more than 500 candidates in the People's Assembly and Shura Council elections. The Egyptian Citizen Party: Established by construction magnate Alaa Hasaballah it claims a membership of 15,000, including former NDP cabinet ministers, senior officials and businessmen. Mohamed Ragab, appointed NDP secretary-general following Hosni Mubarak's ouster on 11 February, is a member. The party was licensed by the PPC on 31 July 2011. Hasaballah says his party will field more than 450 candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The National Egypt (Masr Al-Qawmi) Party: Established by Talaat El-Sadat, the nephew of late president Anwar El-Sadat and a former MP. El-Sadat was appointed chairman of NDP days before it was disbanded on 16 April, and died of a heart attack this week. The party claims 10,000 members, the majority concentrated in the Delta governorates of Menoufiya, home of the Sadat family, and Daqahliya. Alongside many former members of the NDP, the party also includes Tawfik Okasha, owner of the Faraeen (Pharaohs) TV channel which has been a vociferous critic of the 25 January Revolution. Licensed by the PPC on 17 August, the party is fielding candidates in most Delta constituencies. The Modern Egypt (Masr Al-Haditha) Party: Founded by businessman and former NDP member Nabil Dibis, the owner of Modern Egypt private university and the father of Walid Dibis, proprietor of the Modern Egypt television channels which repeatedly criticised the demonstrations in Tahrir Square during the 25 January Revolution. The Dibis family was a major sponsor of the NDP's weekly mouthpiece Al-Watani Al-Youm (NDP Today). The party claims a membership of more than 15,000 members and is fielding candidates in 17 governorates. It was licensed by the PPC on 3 July 2011. The Ittihad (Union) Party: Set up by businessman Hossam Badrawi, named secretary- general of the NDP in the last days of Mubarak's rule. Badrawi, widely seen as a reformist close to Mubarak's son and heir apparent Gamal, resigned a day before Mubarak was forced from power on 11 February. The Ittihad Party says it will field more than 500 parliamentary candidates and boasts a membership of 15,000. It was licensed by the PPC on 18 September. The Beginning (Bidaya): There is little information about the party established by businessman Mahmoud Hossameddin Galal which was the subject of several law suits attempting to have it banned on the grounds it consisted almost exclusively of former NDP officials. It claims a membership of 6,000 and was licensed on 3 August. The NDP off-shoots yet to be recognised officially are: The Conservative (Mohafzeen) Party: Headed by Akmal Qortam, and NDP candidate in the 2010 People Assembly's elections and the owner of Sahara, an oil exploration company based in the Cairo district of Maadi. The Misr Development (Misr Al-Tanmiya) Party: Founded by Cairo University professor of economics Yomna El-Hamaki, a former member of the NDP's secretariat-general and of the Policies Committee led by Gamal Mubarak. El-Hamaki was a member of the Shura Council. The Egypt Renaissance (Misr Al-Nahda) Party: Seemingly not content with one party, Ittihad, Hossam Badrawi is attempting to establish a second, Misr Nahda. Its membership, he says, will be drawn from the NDP's younger cadres. Egypt Re-Awakening (Nahdet Masr) Party: The brainchild of Ahmed Abul-Nazar, Alexandrian businessman and the NDP's candidate in the Alexandrian district of Al-Raml, the party includes many former NDP MPs and businessmen from the coastal city.
