CAIRO: Al-Ghad Party President Ayman Nour announced Tuesday eleven demands for participating in the 2011 presidential elections, along with forming special committees to put together a shadow government. In a press conference at the party's headquarters, Nour laid out the party's plans for the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. In a statement distributed during the press conference, the party set 11 conditions for running in the 2011 presidential race. The conditions are quite similar to the seven Mohamed ElBaradei proposed through the National Association for Change (NAC), including the immediate lifting of the emergency law, reinstating judicial oversight of elections and election monitoring by local and international NGOs. In addition, Al-Ghad demanded public and transparent counting of votes. It also called for raising the maximum amount of money spent on political campaigning to a realistic rate. Nour told reporters that some of the demands were inspired by the NAC. “We will participate in the elections if there are real and fair election,” he said. “We can't participate in mock, sham elections, because that would be a conspiracy against the Egyptian people,” he added. Nour said that he wanted all opposition forces, including the NAC, to unite to push for reform and change in Egypt. Nour also announced the launch of specialized committees and their members who would be responsible for conducting studies and projects to help develop the country and creating a shadow government. All the chosen members of the committees don't include any members of Al Ghad Party. The committee includes Mohamed Sharaf, professor of chemical engineering and technology at the American University of Cairo and Helwan University, Mostafa Abdel Aal, political sociology professor, and Saed El-Nashany, professor of chemical engineering. Nour explained that article 40 of Al-Ghad's executive statute states that “the leaders or supervisors of the specialized committee can be public figures, scientists or specialists, not necessarily members of Al-Ghad Party” “This article indicates that is Egypt much bigger than any party,” he added. “I and the people you saw [today] don't belong to Al-Ghad Party, but we couldn't refuse the invitation from Ayman Nour to be part of this committee to help build the future of Egypt through alternative programs to what we have in the country so far,” Sharaf told Daily News Egypt. “In Egypt, we suffer from unilateralism; that's what led to the deteriorating state of the country. We call on all Egyptians to participate with us and share their vision,” El-Nashany said. “Egypt's deserves better that what's happening to it today,” he added. Nour said that petroleum expert Ibrahim Zahran has been chosen as a member of the shadow government. “The rest of the members are yet to be chosen,” he said. Nour also addressed the Nubian problem and invited Abdel-Sabour Hasab-Allah, member of the follow up committee on the Nubian file, to talk at the press conference. Hasab-Allah thanked Nour and Al-Ghad Party for trying to shed light on the problems of the Nubians, “which have been forgotten by the rest of Egypt”. More than 40 years ago, Nubians were forced to leave their original homeland flooded by the construction process of the High Dam in Aswan. Around one million live in small villages in Aswan and Qena, while the rest have either migrated to the northern governorates, namely Cairo and Alexandria, or left the country. Nubians are calling for the rebuilding of all the villages that have sunk around Lake Nasser. But according to Hassab-Allah, the government refuses to comply with these demands.
