Dozens of Freedom and Justice Party members stormed the office of New Valley Governor Tareq al-Mahdy on Monday, saying he refused to meet with them on account of their opposition to his reshuffling of official posts.
The group was led by the head of the Brotherhood's administrative office in the governorate, in addition to three Muslim Brotherhood members of the Shura Council.
The dispute escalated between protesters and security forces and governorate officials, culminating in Shura MP Raed Zahr al-Din damaging the lobby of the governor's office before announcing he would start a sit-in inside.
The confrontation happened while the governor was attending a conference on educational development and growth at city hall. Security forces failed to convince the MPs to wait until after the conference to meet with the governor.
After the conference, the governor listened to Freedom and Justice Party members’ demands and explained the reasons behind the recent reshuffles. In response, he decided to form a committee of members of both the current Shura Council and dissolved People's Assembly to choose appointees for the second and third stages of the reshuffles. Mahdy also invited MPs on official visits to different areas of the governorate.
The meeting concluded with the protesters and the governor reconciling and agreeing to be "one hand" for the sake of the public interest.
Zahr al-Din rejected the reconciliation, however, and insisted on continuing his sit-in. Mahdy then asked the legislator to continue his sit-in outside his office. After two hours of negotiations, protesters finally left the office.
Mahdy said that the Freedom and Justice Party members stormed his office after he refused to interrupt his conference to meet with them, while Zahr al-Din said that the governor consistently ignores the MPs.
The New Valley Governorate has three members in the Shura Council, all from the Freedom and Justice Party.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
