Mohamed ElBaradei held his first meeting yesterday with members of his National Association for Change, a broad opposition coalition pushing for pro-democracy constitutional reforms. The aim of the meeting was to plan future action. The delegation included prominent novelist Alaa el-Aswany and Dr. Mohamed Ghoneim, a pioneer in kidney transplants in the Middle East. Dr. Mohamed Abul Ghar, a leader in the association, said that ElBaradei will announce his platform and vision for the association within the next two days. Abul Ghar suggested that ElBaradei talk directly to the press to avoid any misunderstanding, and also to be in direct contact with the public. ElBaradei, who is the former head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, has suggested that he may run for the presidency if elections are free and fair. Members from the National Association for Change held a ceremony to mark the start of their signature campaign in Sharqia Governorate at the headquarters of the Democratic Front Party in Zagazig. The association is trying to collect signatures of Egyptians who support constitutional reforms that would open up the presidential election to more candidates. Mohamed Harsh, founder of Wafdists Against Power Inheritance, urged ElBaradei to hold a conference in Sharqia, saying that ElBaradie's popularity is growing and his supporters in the governorate have reached around 100,000. A number of members from the National Association for Change--including MP Hamdein Sabbahi, Abdel Gelil Mostafa, George Ishaq, Amin Eskandar and brotherhood MP Mohamed el-Beltagui--held a consultation meeting two days ago at the Karama Party headquarters where they agreed to propose the formation of a 50-member secretariat for the association when they meet with ElBaradei. In a related development, Osama el-Ghazali Harb, president of the Democratic Front Party, said ElBaradei will not run in the upcoming presidential election if Articles 77 and 88 of the Constitution aren't amended. During a seminar two days ago, Harb called for an independent committee to administer the elections to be set up. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
