• 22:27
  • Wednesday ,11 February 2015
العربية

Egypt's Wafd Party to discuss "security interference" in parliamentary elections

By-ahram

Home News

00:02

Wednesday ,11 February 2015

Egypt's Wafd Party to discuss

Egypt's Wafd Party has called for an urgent meeting on Wednesday to discuss some members' concerns that security bodies are interfering in the scheduled parliamentary elections.

"The meeting has been called because some high board members have complained that there are indications that the security forces are interfering in the electoral process," Spokesman of Al-Wafd Party Bahgat El-Hossamy told Ahram Online.
 
El-Hossmy said the complaints would be discussed in the Wednesday meeting.
 
However, in another Wafd board meeting almost two weeks ago, other members had complaints that they received directions to either run in a parliamentary list different from that of Al-Wafd's or to run independently, El-Hossamy stated.
 
Asked on the numbers of the complainers, El-Hossamy said they are "enough to call for a high board meeting."
 
The meeting involves only the right-of-center Al-Wafd Party members, and not Al-Wafd Alliance which contains other political parties scheduled to run on the same electoral list together.
 
A number of political parties have announced they would boycott the parliamentary elections, scheduled to take place over two stages in March and April, for different reasons.
 
The left-of-center Socialist Popular Alliance Constitution Party announced last Friday it would boycott the parliamentary elections after a list of their demands were unmet, following the death of their member Shaimaa El-Sabagh in a peaceful march.
 
The party said that its members who wish to run independently of the party should hand-in their resignations.
 
El-Sabagh died from birdshot wounds in Downtown Cairo on 24 January while heading to Tahrir Square to commemorate the fallen protesters in the 25 January 2011 uprising.
 
The Socialist Popular Alliance Party accused the police of "premeditatedly murdering" her.
 
The demands of the Socialist Popular Alliance Party included the sacking of the interior minister, reforming the interior ministry, amending a controversial protest law, releasing all those detained for violating the law, and conducting a transparent investigation into her murder.
 
Other political parties and groups, including Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh's Strong Egypt Party and the Revolutionary Socialists, will also boycott the elections.