Archive for Ahmed Saeed

Clashes in Tahrir Square over referendum results

by admin
December 24th, 2012

Scores of protesters held a march in Tahrir Square on Monday to denounce alleged rigging of the constitutional referendum in favor of President Mohamed Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Scuffles erupted between them and supporters of Morsy in the vicinity of the Egyptian Museum, leading to some injuries. Museum security did not intervene.

Passersby tried to persuade the protesters to stay away from the square to avoid further clashes, but they said they would not leave unless Morsy is toppled.

More tents were erected in the square, but the Constitution, Wafd and Popular Current parties removed theirs.

Protesters claimed they saw “Pakistanis with long beards” meeting in the nearby Omar Makram Mosque.

The square turned into a marketplace, as street vendors displayed their wares.

Members of the Arab National Youth Organization Supporting Gaza raised banners, calling on the Egyptian people and President Morsy to stand by the Palestinian cause.

April 6 Youth Movement member Ahmed Saeed said a march would head from Tahrir Square to the presidential palace on Tuesday to denounce the final outcome of the referendum, while a large number of protesters said they would remain in the square until 25 January to commemorate the revolution and demand retribution for its martyrs.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
 

Tags: , ,
Categories Egypt, Egypt Top Stories
Comments (0)

Mediation fails to solve constituent assembly stalemate

by admin
April 2nd, 2012

The general coordinator of the Freedom and Justice Party-led Democratic Alliance, Wahid Abdel Meguid, said a meeting of the committee mediating between the FJP and the Free Egyptians and Social Democratic parties to revolve the stalemate over the formation of the constituent assembly had yielded no results on Sunday.

The meeting was attended by Mohamed al-Beltagy, representing the FJP, Ahmed Saeed, head of the Free Egyptians Party, and Ziad Bahaa el-Din, head of the parliamentary bloc for the Social Democratic Party, Abdel Maguid told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

The head of the Wasat party’s parliamentary bloc mediated the meeting.

The Muslim Brotherhood would voluntarily replace some assembly members with alternates from the parties that feel underrepresented, Beltagy said.

The FJP refused to say reveal many members the party would withdraw before the proposition was accepted.  

Saeed and Bahaa el-Din, however, asked that the constituent assembly be dissolved and completely re-formed, Beltagy reported.

FJP MP Mostafa Ahmed told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the party is making contacts with other parties and withdrawn members regarding possible substitutions.

Deputy of the Shura Council and member of the constituent assembly Tarek al-Suhari said the stalemate is about to end as some withdrawn members have backtracked and will take part in Wednesday's meeting.

Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Tags: , , ,
Categories Egypt, Egypt Top Stories
Comments (0)

Liberal party accuses Brotherhood of using NDP policies to dominate politics

by admin
April 2nd, 2012

The chairman of the liberal Free Egyptians Party has accused the Muslim Brotherhood of trying to use  the same policies of the former ruling National Democratic Party to dominate the country’s political landscape.

Ahmed Saeed said in a statement that the Brotherhood’s decision to nominate its deputy supreme guide, Khairat al-Shater, for president, did not come as surprise.

“The group’s earlier stances had exposed its intention to replace the dissolved National Democratic Party in all decision-making spots,” he said.

Saeed said he is astonished at the Brotherhood’s claim that it made the decision to fulfill the goals of the 25 January revolution, arguing that the “uprising was not meant to establish a single-party dictatorship or to exclude civil forces and the youth, who had sacrificed hundreds of martyrs.”

“Whose orders will Shater follow if he is elected? Those of the people or of the group?” Saeed said in the statement, commenting on Shater’s remarks, in which the Brotherhood leader said that he accepted the nomination in obedience to the Brotherhood’s decision.

Saeed warned that the controversy around the presidential election should not distract Egyptians’ from the Islamist-dominated constituent assembly, which, he said, is preparing to draft the new constitution after excluding secular groups, constitutional experts and revolutionary youths.

The party leader stressed that liberal groups will not allow any political force to change Egypt’s civilian identity.

Tags: , , ,
Categories Egypt, Egypt Top Stories
Comments (0)

Free Egyptians Party parliamentary head resigns

by admin
March 2nd, 2012

Free Egyptians Party MP Mohamed Abu Hamed resigned from his party Thursday night in order to devote more time to an unidentified project that would “serve the nation,” he said on his Twitter account Friday.

Last week, Abu Hamed resigned from his post as head of the party’s parliamentary bloc and was replaced by party chairman Ahmed Saeed.

The privately owned Youm7 newspaper quoted Saeed as saying Abu Hamed's decision took him by surprise. Saeed said he first learned the news from the media, and then read Abu Hamed's resignation in a party-wide email sent at 2:30 am.

Abu Hamed did not consult with anyone in the party about his resignation, Saeed said. “We wish him good luck,” he added.

Saeed said his party will remain dedicated to its role in developing Egypt, making it a nation where civil rights and equality prevail, and keeping it free from religious discrimination.

Prominent Coptic businessman Naguib Sawiris founded the Free Egyptians Party soon after the January 25 uprising toppled the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak. The party's declared objective is to promote the economic and social development of Egypt. Its candidates ran under the umbrella of the liberal-oriented Egyptian Bloc during the recent parliamentary elections, winning 15 seats in the People's Assembly.

Tags: , ,
Categories Egypt, Egypt Top Stories
Comments (0)

Liberal party demands Brotherhood reveal preferred presidential candidate

by admin
February 23rd, 2012

The Free Egyptians Party has demanded the Muslim Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party reveal who they plan to support in the upcoming presidential contest.

The Islamist group and its party, which dominate around 43 percent of seats in the People's Assembly, have not yet yet disclosed which hopeful they will support.

In an interview with state-run news agency MENA, the head of the liberal party, Ahmed Saeed, also warned that the Brotherhood could write the constitution in a way that would allow it to rule the country for a long time without competition. Saeed did not elaborate on his claim.

For now, the Brotherhood is satisfied with controlling the Parliament and dominating almost 99 percent of the political scene without specifying its preferred presidential candidate, Saeed told state-run MENA. But he warned that when different factions join to draft a new constitution — a process in which the Brotherhood is expected to play a key role — the Islamist group, confident in its broad popularity, may make strip the executive branch of powers, leaving the president no more than a figurehead.

Saeed said he believes that if the FJP accomplishes this, it will then form a government and dominate executive and legislative authority.

Freedom and Justice Party President Mohamed Morsy denied on Wednesday reports that party officials had contacted potential candidates or agreed on whom they would support.

While casting his ballot during the second round of Shura Council election runoffs, Morsy added that the next president should have the same mentality of the majority of Egyptians and respect Sharia, or Islamic law.

Brotherhood sources also said on Wednesday that the group would not announce who it is backing until the end of the candidate registration period so as not to reveal too much in advance. The registration process is slated to begin on 10 March.

Tags: , ,
Categories Egypt, Egypt Top Stories
Comments (0)