Four Nasserist parties officially declared that they would merge into one, united group called the Nasserist Party during a meeting late Wednesday.
Abdel Hakim Abdel Nasser, the son of late President Gamal Abdel Nasser , agreed to read the party’s statement in front of his father’s grave on the anniversary of his death on 28 September. The party plans to organize a press conference at the Press Syndicate on the same day.
The agreement to unite forces was signed by the head of the Arab Democratic Nasserist Party, Sameh Ashour; head of the Karama Party, Mohamed Sami; head of the National Conciliation Party, Mahmoud Refaat; and head of the Popular Congress Nasserist Party, Salah al-Desouki.
Mohamed Suleiman, a member of the Karama Party’s political bureau, said that the statement emphasized Nasserist unity and was intended to put an end to ongoing conflicts between the leaders of the different groups.
The parties’ intention in signing the statement was not to form an alliance for the upcoming parliamentary elections, Suleiman told Al-Masry Al-Youm, because the process of merging the parties together will likely not be completed by then. Leaders agreed that each party would run in the election independently.
The 23 July Movement, which includes a number of prominent independent Nasserists, responded to the announcement of the new united party by expressing its own interest in joining.
Ahmed Refaat, founder of the movement, said that the unification of the different Nasserist parties is long overdue.
He noted that there are many figures who have refused to join any Nasserist party because of the divisions between the different groups, and that this new party would be an opportunity to bring them together.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
