CAIRO: The political parties committee in the Shoura Council decided Sunday to recognize Moussa Mostafa Moussa as the President of Al-Ghad Party, denying Ehab El-Khouly, a supporter of the founder of Al-Ghad Ayman Nour, the post. Nour responded by threatening to boycott the political scene in Egypt which he described as “futile.” Nour said in a press conference held on Monday at the party headquarters that "everything is possible in the coming period, which might reach the point of not recognizing the current political game." "What has happened made us reconsider the rules of the (political game) and the point of participating in it," he said. The political parties committee's decision was based on a verdict issued by the Supreme Administrative Court on July 4. Nour said that the committee violated article 16 of the “political parties' law,” which compels every party to notify the head of the committee with any change in its leadership. Nour described the decision as "the committee's announcement that it doesn't want Nour to join the coming presidential elections in 2011." He added that he would appeal the committee's decision at the Administrative Court on Tuesday. He announced that he still insists on running in the next presidential elections and continuing his battle to regain the legitimacy of his party. Among the procedures Nour plans to take in his fight against the government's attempts disqualify him from joining the presidential race is to file a petition to the attorney general to review the case in which he was sentenced to jail for five years. "The law specifies a number of reasons you can file a petition like this, including my case where the ruling was based on the testimony of a witness who was accused of perjury in another case," he added. Nour said "the battle continues, but if the regime continues its attempts to prevent me from entering the elections, I will boycott the political process and resort to the people in the streets. “We asked the leaders of the ruling party to engage in a national dialogue to take steps towards reform, but now we realize there's no point in calling for reform." He said that he demands complete change in the governing regime “starting now and we refuse any dialogue with them." Nour mentioned that his party will choose a new president on Aug. 6, ignoring the decision of the political parties committee. He warned his audience against "the regime's persistence to destroy anything related to the issue of freedom and democracy." “If they have already taken over the ballot boxes, we have no choice but to resort to the people in the street and local and international public opinion,” he said. "The world won't be convinced by mock presidential elections where Mubarak, father or son, competes against a group of puppet political leaders."
