CAIRO: As Egypt draws closer to parliamentary elections, many are calling for the country's plethora of liberal parties – many less than six months old – to unite. "Liberal parties must be unified, as happened in 1919 with al-Wafd Party," said Egyptian liberal thinker and former Minister of information Mansour Hassan. Hassan said the youth of Egypt's January 25 Revolution will destroy the revolution because of their divisions. However, many Egyptian politicians have disagreed with Hassan. "Democracy is the application a multiparty [system]," said Hussein Abdel Razek, head of the socialist al-Tagammu Party. "Egypt suffered from a one-party system for 23 years [1953-1976, when a multiparty system was officially established]. A multiparty does not mean separation or conflict,” he added. "There is no democratic country in the world ruled by a one-party system,” Abdel Razek said. A multiparty system “is one of the components of democracy [and] works for public interests," he added. Mostafa al-Nagar, founder of the Justice Party, said Hassan's idea of unifying parties is impossible because some parties cannot work together. A multiparty system provides more opinions and is logical for Egypt, particularly after the country's January revolution, said Nagar. Abu al-Ezz Hariri, a leader of the National Alliance and National Association of Change, described Hassan's opinion as inaccurate. "A multiparty system is the result of the revolution, which eliminated one party dominance and control,” said Hariri.
