CAIRO: Marred by a war of words between participants, the doomed National Consensus Conference came to an abrupt end during its second installment Thursday. Conference chairman Yehia El-Gamal was first forced to close the first session when a fight broke out between Ahmed Al-Fadaly, head of Al-Salam Party, and Tawheed Al-Banhawy, a leading member of the Nasserist Party over planned protests on Friday. "There is a conspiracy to ruin the conference," El-Gamal said angrily before leaving the hall. "No one has a private agenda. I am surprised by those who refused to participate," he said. The discussions were held in the absence of the Muslim Brotherhood and other youth groups. One of the main topics of contention was whether or not to postpone parliamentary elections until a new constitution has been drafted and agreed upon. The conference is set to hold its next session on Sunday.
