It would appear that Egypt's disbanded National Democratic Party will be entering political life again. The Parties Affairs Committee approved the establishment of a new party, the Egyptian Citizen, on Sunday. The new party includes more than 14,000 Egyptians from various provinces who were members in the NDP. The NDP was Egypt's ruling party before the January 25 uprising, and it was dissolved after the resignation of former President Hosni Mubarak. The most notable former-NDP figures in the new party are Dr. Mohamed Ragab, Ahmed Abu Haggai and a number of former parliamentarians. Mahmoud al-Atiya said the party will hold a public meeting during the next few days followed by a press conference announcing the party's basic program for the next stage. The party also includes a number of young people formerly belonging to opposition parties, including the Nasserite and al-Ghad parties. Dr. Salah Bellah, one of the founders of the party, said that corrupt former members of the Peoples Assembly and the NDP had been barred from joining the party. He said only those with reputable political pasts who had not engaged in election fraud had been permitted to join.
