Internal rifts destabilising Amr Moussa's alliance

The electoral alliance formed by ex-foreign minister and Mubarak-era diplomat Amr Moussa is about to collapse due to disagreements among its member parties, sources close to Moussa told an Egyptian newspaper.

The sources pointed out that most of the electoral lists will be allocated to public figures, while parties in the alliance have set conditions for their membership in the alliance.

Chairman of Al-Wafd Party, El-Sayyid El-Badawi, insisted the alliance be named Al-Wafd Alliance, while Ahmed Shafik’s party, the National Movement, said it would join the alliance “if it does not exclude any political force from joining it” and if the selection of lists is based on popularity rather than partisan affiliation.

The Free Egyptian Party demanded that electoral lists be formed based on each party’s share in the previous parliament, adding that the alliance should be composed of a maximum of five parties, and that it should not include any ex-candidates of the disbanded National Democratic Party.

According to Almesryoon newspaper, Moussa has tried a number of times to convince Al-Wafd and the Free Egyptian Parties to remain in the alliance without conditions. He announced that a meeting would be held tomorrow to declare the alliance’s principles, goals and its name.

The Chairman of the Reform and Development Party, Mohamed Al-Sadat, said that parties are awaiting the drafting of a document for “the Alliance of the Egyptian Nation” to make a decision regarding Moussa’s alliance. He pointed out that his current alliance, the Egyptian Wafd Alliance, does not oppose Moussa’s alliance per se, but rather opposes the “corrupt icons of the previous regime”.

Mohamed Abdellatif, a leading member of Moussa’s alliance, said it’s scheduled to discuss a document drafted by Amr Al-Shobaki today, and that agreement on the document should be followed by forming the electoral lists. He confirmed that the Egyptian Wafd Alliance did not quit Moussa’s alliance, warning that “if Moussa’s alliance fails, no other alliance will succeed”.