Egypt: 'War of the Generals' intensifies ahead of parliamentary elections

A number of former Egyptian military figures are reemerging in the political arena alongside “remnants” of the Mubarak regime, fighting political battles ahead of the parliamentary elections, in an effort to draw a new partisan map that would dominate the new parliament.

The announcement by the former chief of staff of the Egyptian army Gen. Sami Anan that he formed a new party named Egypt Arabism has brought to public attention the fierce competition among army generals on the country’s political cake in light of the rise of a significant number of army veterans to the forefront of the political arena. This has triggered the concerns of civil and revolutionary forces which warned against the militarization of Egyptian partisan life.

On the eve of leaks to the effect that Anan has joined a front led by ex-intelligence chief Morad Mowafy and his aide ex-diplomat Amr Moussa, the press office of Mowafy issued a press release denying that Anan had joined his front, or that any meeting between the two had taken place.

Anan, in turn, was quick to issue a statement on Saturday, denying news that he joined Mowafy’s or any other front, and announcing the formation of his own party, which he said “would become an umbrella for a new counter coalition under the name Egypt Arabism, featuring a variety of political and partisan forces.”

It was striking that Anan, at the end of his statement, thanked Amr Moussa for his political efforts, while completely ignoring Mowafy, which points to the tension between the two figures. Anan highlighted his outreach efforts to his grassroots supporters in all governorates to join the party, and his “consultations with a number of political parties and forces that have a presence in the street, to address the needs of the people and solve their problems.”

Then came the surprise announcement by Mowafy’s that he would withdraw from the Moussa electoral alliance, after a short statement in which he criticized some actions by parties in the alliance, and demanded Moussa to “rethink the formation of the alliance on new bases that serve national interests.”

Al-Wafd’s withdrawal

President of al-Wafd party, Sayed Badawy, has announced his withdrawal from Moussa’s alliance, stressing that he would not take part in any alliance other than the Egyptian Waft, which includes Al-Wafd, the Egyptian Democratic Party, and the Reform and Development Party.

Extensive contacts are currently being held between Moussa and Badawy and president of the Social Democratic Party Mohamed Abul-Ghar with the aim of containing the crisis caused by al-Wafd’s statement issued Saturday regarding the formation of the Egyptian Wafd alliance, and reaching a joint agreement that would combine the two alliances in the future to garner parliamentary majority and form the government.

Sadat Party

Meanwhile, president of the Democratic Sadat Party Effat al-Sadat, announced that his party had agreed with a number of parties and syndicate representatives to launch a new electoral alliance bearing the name of former president of Egypt Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat.

Regarding political forces in his alliance, Sadat said he is holding daily meetings with labor unions and farmer syndicates, in addition to the Representatives of the People Bloc and the Independence Current (both formed by the disbanded National Democratic Party), the Mostakbal Watan campaign (funded by businessman Ahmed Abu Hasheima) along with public figures to prepare a strong electoral platform.

A front called “Supporting the President” which includes parties from the Independence Current and some pro-Sisi campaigns, announced a political platform for its electoral alliance. The motto of the alliance is “No to Ikhwan, No to fake Muslims, and no to the corrupt.” The vast majority of this alliance are ex-leaders of Mubarak’s disbanded NDP.

According to the spokesperson of the alliance, Abdelnaby Abdelsattar, it will form an electoral committee that would receive nominations from members of 50 parties and coalitions, including Al-Sadat, Egyptian Arab Socialist Party and the Nasserist Party. He added that the alliance will contest all the seats of the parliament.

Shafiq Party

In the meantime, Yasser Qura, a member in the executive board of the National Movement Party, founded by ex-army general and Mubarak’s last prime minister Ahmed Shafiq, said he would visit Shafiq in his residence in the United Arab Emirates to discuss the party’s position regarding electoral alliances.

Moussa’s alliance has totally discarded Shafiq’s party from its calculations, and has not invited its representatives to any preparatory meetings for his alliance. This is partly due to the fact that Shafiq’s party includes a large number of NDP leaders known to the Egyptian public.

Militarization of parties

Regarding the new map of electoral alliances, the spokesperson of al-Wasat Party Belal al-Sayed told Al-Araby Al-Jadid website that “Anan’s formation of a new party reflects side battles taking place among the generals, which will eventually unveil the conflicts in the deep state.”

He added that “the army generals’ heavy participation in partisan politics in Egypt and the battles between them will undermine civilian politics in Egypt and reduce politics to parties with military background.”

A member in the political bureau of April 6 Youth Movement Mohamed Kamal wondered: “Has Egypt become too impotent to give birth to civilian parties, to the extent that the former chiefs of the army and intelligence are forming two parties?”

He pointed out that those parties will be mostly composed of members of the military, “which would impoverish political life and militarize partisan life after government positions have been militarized throughout the past 60 years.”

Deputy director of Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies Wahid Abdelmeguid said that Moussa’s alliance “will not be successful”, stressing that “electoral alliances will face hundreds of problems in the next parliamentary elections.”

“Electoral alliances in Egypt are not build on political bases, but rather on interests and connections, and for the sake of gaining most seats in the parliament,” he elaborated, adding that “the current scene in Egypt is very messy.”