El-Ghad Party

This article is about the official El-Ghad party led by Moussa Moustafa Moussa. For the El-Ghad party split led by Ayman Nour, see Ghad El-Thawra Party.
el-Ghad Party
Hizb el-Ghad
حزب الغد
Chairperson Moussa Moustafa Moussa
Slogan Hand in Hand, we build tomorrow
Founded 2004
Headquarters Cairo, Egypt
Newspaper El-Ghad
Ideology Secularism,
Liberalism,
Liberal democracy,
Reformism
Political position Centre
Religion Secular
House of Representatives
0 / 567
Website
www.elghad.com
Politics of Egypt
Political parties
Elections

The el-Ghad Party (Arabic: حزب الغد‎ Ḥizb el-Ghad, IPA: [ˈħezb elˈɣæd]; "The Tomorrow Party") is an active political party in Egypt that was granted license in October 2004. El-Ghad is a centrist liberal secular political party pressing for widening the scope of political participation and for a peaceful rotation of power.

The official El-Ghad Party, headed by Moussa Moustafa Moussa, was running the Egyptian parliamentary election, 2011–2012 as an independent list. The split faction Ghad El-Thawra Party, headed by Ayman Nour, was part of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party-led Democratic Alliance for Egypt.[1] The party withdrew from the Egyptian Front.[2]

Background

Ayman Nour left the New Wafd Party in 2001, and established El-Ghad. The party was legalized in 2004. After facing president Hosni Mubarak in the Egyptian presidential election, 2005, Nour was sentenced to five years in jail on forgery charges.[1]

In 2005, just before Nour being sentenced, the El-Ghad party split in two factions. One was headed by Moussa Moustafa Moussa, the other by Nour’s (now former) wife Gameela Ismail.[1] Legal battle ensued between both factions, both claiming legitimacy and simultaneously using the party name and insignia. The final court ruling in May 2011 was in favor of Moussa.[3] Ayman Nour hence filed for a new party, Ghad El-Thawra Party or "Revolution's Tomorrow Party", which was approved on 9 October 2011.[1]

The removal of Nour from the party leadership by Moussa, and the latter's election to the Egyptian Upper House, have been seen as compliances with the Hosni Mubarak regime.[1]

Platform

The party platform calls for:

Name confusion

Ayman Nour has been tightly associated with both the El-Ghad name and party, even being accused of internal monopoly by other party members.[1] Since both Nour and Moussa factions were using (and still are) the same name and insignia (ex: Ghad El-Thawra website[4]), it was often difficult to tell them apart. For instance, Liberal International listed El-Ghad, specifying its leader as Ayman Nour, as an observer member.[5] Many poll and media outlets used the term "El-Ghad" without specifying which party or faction they are referring to,[6] although they often meant the Ayman Nour Ghad El-Thawra faction.[7][8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Ghad Al-Thawra Party". ahram.org. 3 December 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "رسميا.. انسحاب "المؤتمر و"التجمع" و"الغد" من "الجبهةالمصرية"". Youm7. 21 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  3. ↑ محمود حسين، "شئون الأحزاب" ترفض قبول تأسيس حزب الغد الجديد. اليوم السابع 2011-9-5. وصل لهذا المسار في 28 سبتمبر 2011.
  4. ↑ "aymannour.net".
  5. ↑ Datasheet on the Liberal International's website
  6. ↑ "Egypt’s Simmering Rage". The Daily Beast. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  7. ↑ "2nd National Voter Survey in Egypt". Danish-Egyptian Dialogue Institute (DEDI). Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  8. ↑ "3rd National Voter Survey in Egypt". Danish-Egyptian Dialogue Institute (DEDI). Retrieved 16 December 2013.

External links