CAIRO: Al-Wasat Al-Gadid, which was recently denied official party status for the fourth time, condemned the decision taken by the Shoura Council's political parties committee. The group, along with members of several opposition parties, says the move stands in the way of democratic reform and political participation. The Shoura Council, however, stands by its decision, saying it is based on the political rights law. Aboul Ela Madi, the party's elected chairperson and founder, said in a statement that Al-Wasat was an attempt to give Egyptians hope that they can participate in their country's politics and develop democracy. With the rejections, Madi said, the "seeds of hope have been replaced with despair. Essam Sultan, lawyer and one of the party's founders, said they will appeal the committee's decision in front of a High Administrative Court and is confident they will get a favorable ruling. For its part, the political parties' committee said in a statement Monday that the group was denied official party status because "its program adds nothing new to political life in Egypt - one of the criteria for establishing any new party according to the recently amended political rights law. This is the fourth time in 13 years that Al-Wasat's application for official party status is turned down by the political parties committee. The statement said that the party's updated program offered nothing new this time around. Shawki Al-Sayed, head of the Shoura Council's legislative committee, told Daily News Egypt that one of the criteria for founding a new political party is a program that offers something new to the political sphere. According to the statement, the committee's decision relied on court orders issued by a High Administrative Court in 1998 and 1999, which denied the group official party status for the same reasons. A 2007 court ruling rejected the group's request because it did not have enough members. According to Madi, Al-Wasat now has 1,200 members in 25 governorates and the new law sets a minimum of 1,000. Al-Sayed defended the committee's decision, saying it was taken after the committee listened to a presentation by Madi and decided - with a majority vote - that the party offers nothing new. "The committee comprised distinguished members from society as well as the Minister of Interior [Habib El-Adly] and Shoura Council head [Safwat El-Sherif], Al-Sayed added. Mahmoud Ezzat, secretary general of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), told Daily News Egypt that the "presence of the minister of interior in a committee conducted to evaluate a political party is a violation of the basic rights of Egyptian citizens. He likened it to putting a "sword through people's freedoms. The Brotherhood, Ezzat said, welcomes Al-Wasat and any other political party. "We support the creation of political groups because that serves the concept of democracy, Ezzat added. Al-Wasat clearly refutes claims that it is affiliated with the MB group or that's discourse is Islamic in nature - it's believed that such claims are part of the obstacles standing in the group's way towards official recognition. "We are not related to the MB group and we are not an Islamic party and both the government and the parties' committee know that information very well, Iman Kandil, member of Al-Wasat's policies committee and secretary general of the Party's Women Committee, told Daily News Egypt. According to Kandil, the party was rejected because "it is a serious party with a strong program and the government fears the presence of strong parties and only allows the weak ones that would not add to or change the political life in Egypt. Al-Wasat includes Copts, women and members from different developmental and social NGOs, according to the party's list of members that is published on its official website. Al-Wasat started in 1995 as an idea to gather members from the young Islamic groups in Egypt to create a purely civil political party. Accusations of an underlying Islamist discourse have followed the party since its inception. In 1998, new members, unaffiliated with Islamic groups, joined and reinvented the group's discourse under the name Al-Wasat Al-Gadid, reinforcing the civil nature of the party, according to the party's official website. Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, secretary general of Al-Wafd and PA member, regrets the decision taken against the party for two reasons. "The Wasat party has potential to play an important role in creating civil order among the different political Islamic groups, Mounir said referring to the former affiliation of some Wasat members with Islamist groups. "Secondly, the committee's decision stands against the freedom of political powers to create parties that express their views, he added. "Al-Wasat party is an independent political party that is not based on any religious or Islamic ideologies. The party represents all different sectors of Egyptians away from religious ideologies and preaching groups, says the website.
