George Ishaq, a founding member of the newly established liberal Constitution Party, has said that the party seeks to compete for at least a third of the seats in the upcoming parliamentary elections, adding that the party will also consider entering electoral alliances with other secular forces.
Speaking to party members in Alexandria, Ishaq said that the party is currently working on forming powerful lists to run in the next parliamentary elections, without giving further details.
The Constitution Party was formally recognized by the Egyptian authorities in mid-September. Mohamed ElBaradei, former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is among its founders. Several parties have announced mergers with the party.
Secular parties performed poorly in the last parliamentary elections that ended in January, failing to get a third of the seats in the Islamist-dominated Parliament.
In June, a Supreme Constitutional Court ruling resulted in the dissolution of the lower house.
The next elections are scheduled to take place two months after a public referendum on a new constitution.
Nasr Abdel Salam, head of Construction and Development Party, the political wing of Jama'a al-Islamiya, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that he is currently working to develop an integrated vision for the upcoming polls with the Freedom and Justice Party, as well the Salafi-oriented Nour, Asala and Fadila parties.
He added that contacts between the political bureau of the party, namely Tarek al-Zomor, and the political bureaus of the other parties.
Abdel Salam said the future of proposed alliances depends, however, on a 15 October verdict by the Supreme Administrative Court, regarding an appeal on the dissolution of the People's Assembly.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
