Reactions from Egyptian political parties regarding the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces' latest statement varied from party to party. The Egyptian Social Democratic Party sent the military council a statement Monday that included the party's objections against the statement. One of the party's founders, Mohamed Abou el-Ghar, refused to sign the statement, which was signed by 12 political parties that attended the meeting. But he agreed with the SCAF's amendment calling for the total support of the council, citing it as a way to respectfully disagree with the council. His party expressed reservations about certain portions of the statement and criticized its mysterious handling of some issues, such as military trials for civilians and banning former regime figures from political life. On the other hand, the Salafi party “al-Nour” (the Light) threatened to withdraw their signature from the military council's statement, unless the Emergency Law is abolished within three days. The party's supreme council said that the military council must fulfill promises it made during the meeting such as the repeal of the Emergency Law and the immediate prohibition of former regime figures from political life. The al-Nour party's council also said that a timetable for the peaceful transition of authority is very long, considering that an elected government is needed to lead the country. Prominent Salafi preacher Yasser Bourhamy rejected the el-Nour party chairman's signature on the statement, saying that the party does not represent the Salafi trend. “We do not pass any decision without holding consultations among ourselves. The chairman should not take an individual decision,” said Yasser. The Democratic Front Party's youth wing also rejected their chairman's signature of the statement. They said that they reject the military council's statement, as only political parties' chairmen signed it. They also rejected military trials, and demanded international monitoring for all stages of the electoral process. The Popular Coalition Party said that the SCAF's ruling is full of drawbacks, and it has to meet the demands of the revolution and quiet its role as guardian of the revolution. The party's statement said, "The military council's response to the people's needs are slow and incomplete, and were only met because of repeated public pressure." The Socialist Youth Federation rejected the military council's meeting with political parties. They said that these parties only represent themselves, not the revolution, and the demands of the revolution are still not met. The federation asked the military council to stop its attempts at circumventing the revolution, and to transfer power to a civil authority. The high council of the Jusitce Party held intensive discussions regarding the signature of Mustafa al-Naggar, one of the party's founders, and decided to withdraw their signature. The council decided to send an official message to the SCAF to explain the reasons for the party's withdrawal.
