On the "Cairo Today" talk show on Wednesday, presented by TV Anchor Amr Adeeb on Orbit channel, presidential contender Abul-Ezz El-Hariri asserted that the People's Assembly should be dismissed, adding that he did not see a Islamic trend in Egypt. El-Hariri, an elected MP and long-time political activist, is running on the Socialist Popular Alliance (SPA) ticket.
El-Hariri, who has been always critical of the legitimacy of elections, stated that the People's Assembly is illegitimate as it is dominated by one sect: Islamist. This is because, as widely expected, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) won the lion’s share of seats in elections, with just over 48 per cent of the assembly. The Salafist Al-Nour Party continued the trend to come second and secure 29 per cent of the list seats. The moderate Islamist Al-Wasat Party secured three per cent of the list seats. As a whole, Islamist forces account for 70 per cent of the assembly.
El-Hariri said, however, that those who call themselves Islamists represent simply a new wave of politics and having nothing to do with religion. He said there is no real Islamic current, stating that those who claim to be men of God know nothing about the acts that please God. El-Hariri then discussed his plans were he to become president. He called for more support for farmers, to maximize production and employ nine million currently unemployed farmers.
El-Hariri described himself as the “richest” candidate due to his long history of patriotism, openness in relation to the people and his drive to serve the nation without aspiring to make a fortune. He defined rich as "honour, integrity and right." He admitted that he didn’t earn even a single penny to support his presidential campaign, because he needs the support of people not money. He said he is open in communicating to people since "whoever sees a defect in me just says it to me".
El-Hariri added: "I live in a rental apartment and I don’t own anything, however, I am the richest candidate, I am exposing myself to the people and I am winning in all cases. I don’t have a legitimate or illegitimate fortune, and I don’t want money. I really want to serve the nation. we have farmers who don’t have the means to eat."
A socialist and labour activist, El-Hariri claimed to have a “long history of promoting social justice,” noting that he had always been critical of Egypt’s parliamentary and presidential elections, which were regularly rigged under the former regime.
