THE daughter of the late founder of the frozen opposition Hizb el-Amal (Labour) Party has pushed her way into the party's top post, with the declared aim of protecting the legacy of her father, Ibrahim Shukri. In her first press statement after being elected chairwoman of the doomed Islamist party, Asmahan Ibrahim, a veiled woman from a conservative Muslim family, confirmed that her priority was to put the party back on track. She denied that she'd ever thought of following in the footsteps of her father, the first chairman of the party. Asmahan, the first-ever chairwoman of a political party in Egypt, also denies that a power-struggle involving heavyweight members would prevent her from resuscitating the Socialist Labour Party. “I like to think of myself as a transitional chairperson, running the show until things are properly sorted out and the party restores its image in the political street,” she stressed. Founded in 1978 by Ibrahim Shukri, Hizb el-Amal (Labour Party) caught the public's attention with its mouthpiece newspaper, Al-Shaab, which harshly criticised the Government and prominent members of the ruling party. Hizb el-Amal provoked the outrage of the Government, when its leaders allowed Islamists to steer its policies and propose its agenda. The party was suspended almost ten years ago, on May 20, 2000. The party's mouthpiece was also accused of publishing articles, which could destabilise Egyptian society. Asmahan's election has met with strong protests from veteran members and her late father's comrades. She is said to have hijacked the party with the aid of only seven members of its higher committee. Abdel-Hamid Barakat, the party's liaison officer, denies the daughter's election was legal according to the party's rules. “Asmahan was voted in by seven or eight people in the absence of 2,000 members of the Higher Committee, who should have convened at a general assembly to elect a new chief,” he says. Asmahan discloses that she was sitting at the table next to her father when he declared the birth of Hizb el-Amal. “I am one of the founding members of the party and was elected a member of its executive committee four times in a row, ending in 1989,” she says in her defence. These same powerful members, angry at Asmahan's election, are likely to be invited to a meeting, in a bid to get them to cool down. “The party's higher committee will soon convene and members will be persuaded to relinquish their reservations,” she comments. Meanwhile, Asmahan denies that, now she's become the chairwoman of a political party, she's going to enter the presidential race in Egypt next year. “I do not have any plans to nominate myself for the presidential elections. There are so many people who are more competent and better qualified than me,” she says graciously.
