July 06 Newsletter

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Osama El-Ghazaly Harb Launches New Political Party: The Democratic Front
ICDS Staff

On July 16th, the venerable Shephard Hotel in downtown Cairo played host to the official launch of a new political party that is currently “under formation” as it waits for approval from the Political Parties Committee, Dr. Osama El-Ghazaly Harb’s Democratic Front (Al-Jebha Al-Demoqratia). The party aims to promote a liberal alternative to the ruling National Democratic Party, along the lines of the now effectively defunct Tomorrow Party (Hizb Al-Ghad). Harb, who once wrote that “President Mubarak’s recent reforms could be the foundation for the establishment of a new democratic system” decided to found the party after leaving the powerful Policies Secretariat in disillusionment about the pace and seriousness of political reform.

The conference was graced by a surprise visit from Mahdi Akef, the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, who gave an impromptu speech on the invitation of Dr. Harb. Akef disputed some of the characterizations of his organization made by the presenters, but otherwise encouraged wished the new party success and welcomed it to the forces working for political reform.

Other speakers included Dr. Yehia ElGamal, a practicing lawyer, law professor, and former minister who writes a weekly column for The Egyptian Today (Al-Masry Al-Youm), an independent daily newspaper, Dr. Hazem ElBiblawi, an economist at the Universit of Alexandria and a consultant to the Arab Monetary Fund, and Anwar Osmet ElSadat, the nephew of late Egyptian president Anwar ElSadat.

All the conference participants stressed that the internal workings of the party, in contrast to its competitors, would be run on a democratic basis. The party logo, 77 in Arabic, symbolizes the “silent majority” of Egyptians who did not vote in the 2005 elections .