The April 6 Youth Movement has rejected an invitation for dialogue that President Mohamed Morsy made in a pre-recorded interview shown aired in the early hours of Monday morning.
Mohamed Morsy called for another national dialogue session at Ettehadiya Presidential Palace on Tuesday, extending his call to the call to several Islamist and opposition groups. The president said the meeting would address how to guarantee free and fair elections.
The opposition has voiced reservations on some aspects of the recently-approved election law, and have already announced that they would boycott the polls scheduled to begin 22 April.
In a statement on Tuesday morning, the April 6 Youth Movement said it rejects the invitation in protest of “Morsy's unilateral decisions” that are taken “without consultation with political groups.”
“President Morsy called for parliamentary elections without consulting anyone, and in disregard of political forces’ objections to the election law and the delineation of constituencies,” the group's statement said.
Group founder Ahmed Maher said, “Dialogue on elections after setting their date is exactly the same as dialogue over the Constitution after the referendum was held.”
Maher said if the presidency and the Muslim Brotherhood were serious about dialogue, they should have arranged for it before adopting decisions and legislation.
Included in the president’s invitation were Islamist parties such as the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, the Salafi Nour Party, as well as the Dostour Party, the Popular Current — both members of the opposition coalition the National Salvation Front — the Coptic Church and Al-Azhar representatives.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
