CAIRO: An MP with the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) recently launched a campaign supporting Gamal Mubarak, son of incumbent President Mubarak, for president in the 2011 elections. The campaign by MP Ayman Salah kicked off under the slogan “Gamal Mubarak, President of This Era …Gamal Mubarak the Best President for Egypt.” In his Manshiet Nasser office, Salah reportedly hung a picture of Hosni Mubarak on the left, Gamal Mubarak on the right and one of himself in the middle. “I believe that this [supporting Gamal Mubarak] while President Mubarak is still effectively performing his duties as president, has a negative impact on the NDP, and will lead to political turmoil,” said Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies researcher Nabil Abdel Fattah. “It also shows a lack of discipline and organization inside the NDP,” he told Daily News Egypt. This campaign is the third of a series supporting the 47-year-old head of the NDP's policies committee The first campaign was launched in the end of July by “The Popular Coalition to Support Gamal Mubarak” and is led by Magdy El-Kurdy, former member of the leftist Tagammu opposition party. The second campaign titled “Sotak Amana” kicked off online by a group of young people on Aug.1, aiming to collect 5 million signatures supporting the President's son. Opposition groups have widely criticized these campaigns, and accused the NDP of masterminding them. However, the organizers of these campaigns have repeatedly denied any connection with the NDP, claiming that they were convinced that Gamal Mubarak is the most suitable candidate to bring security and prosperity to Egypt. Abdel Fattah believes that personal interests are behind these campaigns. “With parliamentary elections coming up, some members of the National Democratic Party are supporting Gamal Mubarak for president to boost their positions inside the party and to gain the state's support against their competitors, including independent MPs, Muslim Brotherhood candidates or even other MPs from the NDP,” he added. He also contends that despite these campaigns supporting the son, President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled Egypt since 1981, will run for yet another presidential term next year.
