At a meeting on Sunday with Ayman Nour, founder of the opposition Ghad Party, a delegation from the Alliance of Egyptian Americans (AEA) said they planned to pressure US President Barack Obama to promote democratic reform in Egypt.
“We're American taxpayers,” said AEA Vice President Mokhtar Kamel. "We have the right to participate in the decision-making process."
The delegation, which included AEA spokesman Sabry al-Baha, also spoke with Nour about opposition proposals for the establishment of a "shadow" Egyptian parliament.
The idea was first tabled after recent parliamentary polls were swept by the ruling National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak. The elections were accompanied by widespread reports of vote fraud.
“The proposed shadow parliament will be more effective than the ruling regime thinks,” Nour told the delegation, calling on the AEA to actively support the initiative.
Asked whether he would run in next year’s presidential race, Nour told delegates that he was trying to resolve the legal obstacles that currently prevented him from nominating himself as a candidate.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
