Archive for Freedom and Justice Party

FJP nominates three ministers for new Cabinet, source says

by admin
December 30th, 2012

 

Less than a week after touting the independence of the Cabinet and state institutions, the Freedom and Justice Party is jockeying for places in an impending Cabinet reshuffle. 
 
The party had initially nominated eight ministers, but eventually settled for three: Bassem Ouda, chairman of the party’s committee on energy, for the post of petroleum minister, Abdallah Shehata, chairman of the economic committee, for finance minister and Reda Agag, the president’s adviser for commodity supply, for minister of supply and social affairs, according to an anonymous party source.
 
The same FJP source expected the reshuffle to be announced within hours, and also said non-party member Hafez Salmawy, the director of the Electric Utility Regulatory and Consumer Protection Authority, would be tapped for minister of electricity.
 
Party leader Ahmed Ibrahim said the FJP seeks to put its members atop the ministries of local development, economic development, supply, and petroleum.
 
“Finance Minister Momtaz al-Saeed wants to quit for health reasons,” Ibrahim said, although Saeed has denied this on several occasions.
 
Amid much speculation on the reshuffle, Prime Minister Hesham Qandil said Sunday he was coordinating with President Mohamed Morsy to form a new Cabinet. He did not say whether that would include his own replacement, although anonymous FJP sources also said Sunday party has nominated Muslim Brotherhood Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat al-Shater for prime minister and is considering FJP President Saad al-Katatny as a backup. 
 

Just last week the party's media adviser Murad Ali denied reports the party was holding internal talks ove a reshuffle. The party does not interfere with Cabinet business and believes states bodies should be independent, he said.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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FJP’s vice chairman picked as Shura majority leader

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December 30th, 2012

The Freedom and Justice Party's parliamentary body has selected Essam al-Erian as the majority leader in the Shura Council.

Essam al-Erian, vice chairman of the FJP, is replacing Ali Fath al-Bab in the position. 

Al-Erian announced the change on his Facebook page Sunday. He was selected by the FJP's parliamentary body in meeting late Saturday.

Under the new Constitution, which passed with a 64 percent "yes" vote in the national referendum held earlier this month, the upper house of Parliament, also known as the Shura Council, will hold legislative powers until the House of Representatives — the lower chamber — is elected.

The Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist parties occupy the majority of seats in the Shura Council.

“My party brothers, the party’s executive office and parliamentary bloc have tasked me with a heavy burden, and I ask God for his support. I stretch my hand to all council blocs to cooperate in carrying out all difficult missions”, he wrote.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
 

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Sunday’s papers: Morsy speaks, again

by admin
December 30th, 2012

President Morsy’s latest address to the nation—at Saturday’s opening session of the Shura Council’s new cycle—provoked a few sarcastic headlines in Sunday’s papers.

Independent daily Al-Sabah observes that “Morsi speaks about the Egypt he imagines,” criticizing the president’s speech as overly optimistic and writing that the new president is following toppled President Hosni Mubarak’s path by ignoring clear problems in the country.

In his address, published in state-run Al-Ahram, Morsy announced that the passing of the new Constitution has ended the long transition period and initiated a new era of equality and prosperity.  He repeated his invitation to political parties and opposition to join a national dialogue.

Morsy’s description of the economic situation received the most criticism. The president attacked those who claim that Egypt is heading towards bankruptcy and detailed the different sectors in which Egypt’s economy has improved.

Opposition newspaper Al-Tahrir headlined with a critical description of the scene of the nationally televised speech, contrasting the elaborate preparations to the unimpressive content speech and calling Morsy “Mubarak’s identical copy”:

“A 30-car motorcade, trees to welcome his highness at the parliament, evacuation of the Ministry of Health building…removing graffiti that demands justice, and a weak speech.”

The paper’s chief editor Ibrahim Eissa wrote that the address was “ boring, repetitive, (and) separate from reality.”

News also looms of an expected cabinet reshuffle.

Privately-owned Al-Shorouk reports the cabinet reshuffle will take place within two days. It cites government sources saying that the Freedom and Justice Party is pressuring the government to replace some ministers who are not aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Ayman Al Sayad, a former adviser to Morsy who recently resigned, wrote an address of his own to the President in Al-Shorouk. El Sayed is one of at least seven top advisers to the president who have resigned over the past month.

Al Sayad argues that the advisory group on which he served failed in its main task, which was to bridge the gap between the president’s supporters and the Brotherhood on one hand and the rest of the country on the other.

Al Sayad reproached the President for addressing “his people” rather than the nation. He also criticized the use of religion by the president’s supporters and wrote that the last straw came when the president’s aides, including himself, failed to convince the Brotherhood to refrain from sending its youth to attack a sit-in at the presidential palace earlier this month which led to deadly clashes.

“Mr. President, I walk away maintaining cordiality and respect to you and other friends in your group but I cannot be a hypocrite and unfortunately I now feel that staying close to you entails hypocrisy and deception to myself and others,” he concluded.

Egypt’s papers:

Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt

Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size

Al-Gomhurriya: Daily, state-run

Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run

Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned

Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned

Al-Watan: Daily, privately owned

Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party

Youm7: Daily, privately owned

Al-Tahrir: Daily, privately owned

Al-Sabah: Daily, privately owned

Freedom and Justice: Daily, published by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party

Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned

Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Nasserist Party

Al-Nour: Official paper of the Salafi Nour Party

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PM meets with Brotherhood, Salafi figures ahead of Cabinet reshuffle

by admin
December 28th, 2012

Prime Minister Hesham Qandil has begun consultations regarding the forthcoming Cabinet reshuffle. Eight new ministers are expected to be appointed following the successive resignation of several members of the Cabinet.

The reshuffle will most likely include the ministries of transport, local development, supply, electricity, petrol, communications, finance and legal affairs, a high-level Cabinet source told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Qandil is to submit his nominations to President Mohamed Morsy for approval in the coming week. Nominations are expected to include members of the Freedom and Justice Party, and the Muslim Brotherhood’s guidance bureau is holding discussions on this matter.

A Brotherhood source said the group almost unanimously agreed to nominate Abdallah Shehata, the head of the FJP’s economic committee, as finance minister. Nour Party Secretary General Galal al-Morrah and Nour Party deputy head Sayed Mostafa are both also expected to receive nominations to the Cabinet. The three potential candidates all met with Qandil on Thursday.

Morrah told Al-Masry Al-Youm that he met with Qandil and Mostafa to discuss the current political and economic situation, as well as the nominations for the Cabinet. The Nour Party has nominated “a large number of its members to the new Cabinet, and it is in touch with the guidance bureau of the Brotherhood on this issue,” he added.

Several party leaders have objected to Qandil staying on as prime minister in the face of Egypt’s worsening economic crisis, and have called on Morsy to replace him with an expert in economics.

The Qandil Cabinet has not provided a clear plan to address the country’s economic decline and ongoing labor unrest, and has resorted to the former regime’s methods of borrowing domestically and internationally as a quick fix for cash flow problems, said Constitution Party deputy head Ahmed al-Bora’ei.

Hussein Zayed, the Shura Council MP for the Wasat Party, issued a press release on Thursday saying the party was shocked that Qandil had been entrusted with forming a new Cabinet.

The Wasat Party has objected to Qandil’s appointment as prime minister since the first day, the statement added, claiming that he was a non-politicized figure unfit for the position. Qandil’s Cabinet failed miserably in managing the country and was virtually absent during the violent political turmoil of the past two months, Zayed claimed.

Free Egyptians Party leader Mahmoud al-Alayly said the party had not received any communication on the nomination of members for the Cabinet reshuffle, but that the party would refuse any offers of positions in the Cabinet.

The president's insistence on asking Qandil to reshuffle the Cabinet is a sign of stubbornness against opposition forces, which demanded the dismissal of the Cabinet for its lack of political or economic vision, he added.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Erian chosen as majority leader in Shura Council

by admin
December 27th, 2012

Essam al-Erian has been selected as the leader of the majority in the Shura Council, replacing Ali Fath al-Bab.

Erian, vice president of the Freedom and Justice Party and President Mohamed Morsy’s adviser, was selected by the FJP’s palriamentary body. Sources said that although Fath al-Bab was doing well, Erian’s parliamentary experience and his role in the drafting of the new Constitution make him more eligible to lead the majority.

The head of the council’s legislative committee should be a legal expert, such as Hussein Hassaan or Gamal Gibril, the sources said. The Freedom and Justice Party would not insist on one if its members heading up that committee, they added.

Under the new Constitution, which was passed by 64 percent in the national referendum, the Shura Council — the upper house of Parliament — will hold legislative powers until the House of Representatives — the lower chamber — is elected in the next two months.

The Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist parties occupy the majority of seats on the council.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Tourism up in 2012, but sector still in trouble, says minister

by admin
December 27th, 2012

About 10.5 million tourists visited Egypt from January 2012 to the end of November, an increase of 17.4 percent as compared to the same period in 2011. Tourism brought in revenues of US$9.37 billion this year, said Tourism Minister Hesham Zaazou.

“Indicators show there is a demand for Egypt as a tourist destination,” the minister said, stressing the need to develop the tourism industry.

Zaazou made the statement during a meeting of the General Assembly of the Egyptian Federation of Chambers of Tourism headed Elhamy al-Zayat on Wednesday evening.

However, political events that have occurred since November — including President Mohamed Morsy’s passing of a controversial constitutional declaration, and the protests against the constitutional referendum that led to deadly clashes — resulted in a 25 percent loss in occupancy rates at various tourist destinations at the end of the year, Zaazou said. There was also a decrease in tourism investments, and some existing investments were halted due to the unrest.

Egypt loses about 18 thousand seats on regular flights for various airlines operating in Egypt each week, Zayat said, claiming that this represents a disaster for the tourism sector, as the tourists who arrive on these flights are typically top spenders.

Low hotel occupancy rates during the tourism season add to the crisis, Zayat said. At times occupancy rates only reached 5 percent in some destinations, leading to a steep decline in prices — some hotels have reduced their rates to US$15 per night, which includes three meals, he added.

Zayat said that many companies cannot pay their employees, resulting in more than 400 thousand workers abandoning their jobs in the tourism sector over the past two years.

The meeting was followed by a national dialogue meeting for tourism that was attended by representatives of the Freedom and Justice Party, the Nour Party, the Wafd Party, the Free Egyptians Party, the Wasat Party and the Generation Party.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Muslim Brotherhood, FJP start preparations for parliamentary elections

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December 26th, 2012

The Muslim Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party have started preparing for upcoming parliamentary and municipal elections. They have already arranged continuous visits to different electoral districts over the coming period.

Regarding rumors that the Brotherhood is trying to lure voters by providing jobs to youth, including 10,000 in Suez, Mostafa al-Ghoneimy, member of the Guidance Bureau, said jobs provided by the group are not included within campaigning.

He added that offering jobs has been one of the Brotherhood's commitments toward society since it was established over 80 years ago.

“The Brotherhood and its party have drawn up a plan to ensure employment of youth in both the public and private sectors to enhance their incomes,” Ghoneimy added.

Karem Radwan, member of the Brotherhood’s Shura Council, said the group is working on reducing the unemployment rate.

In Alexandria, the Brotherhood and FJP have formed committees to supervise elections, select candidates and announce results. The administrative office held several meetings on the selection of figures who will run, as well as the issue of cooperating with other political forces.
 
Committees that took part in preparing for the constitutional referendum will also resume work on electoral campaigning.

Mohamed Halim Hassan, acting secretary of the party in Minya, said several measures will be taken as part of the preparations. Training, for instance, will be providing on electoral campaigning.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Govt human rights body calls for investigating referendum violations

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December 25th, 2012

The National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) on Tuesday called on the authorities to investigate violations and irregularities during the referendum and devise mechanisms to respond to complaints forwarded by civil society organizations.

The councils’ researchers said during a press conference Tuesday that the council had issued 50,000 authorizations for organizations and observers to supervise the referendum.

It has relayed 1,073 complaints to the High Judicial Elections Commission, including delayed opening of polling stations, influencing voters inside and outside stations, early closing of stations, collective voting and impeding observers.

Mohamed al-Damaty, head of the elections support unit, denounced sharp criticism of the council. “We spotted more violations than other observers,” he said.

Damaty also denied licensing, selectively, members of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood group, while disallowing others from observing the voting.

His colleague, Brotherhood lawyer Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsoud, said there were fewer violations than in the referendum of March 2011 and the previous parliamentary elections.

“The referendum was successful in general and there was no violence,” Aswat Masriya, news website affiliated with Reuters news agency, quoted Abdel Maqsoud as saying.

The Islamist-backed constitution was put for referendum on two stages on 15 and 22 December. Several rights groups reported violations during the voting process, especially campaigners for and against the document trying to influence voters.

The opposition says the constitution, drafted mostly by President Mohamed Morsy’s Islamist allies, fails to guarantee personal freedoms and the rights of women and minorities. It says charter will lead to more problems in the most populous Arab nation.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
 

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Egyptian Catholics celebrate Christmas amid high security

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December 25th, 2012

Egyptian Catholics celebrated Christmas Monday night at the Virgin Mary Cathedral in Nasr City amid tight security measures.

The celebrations started at 9 pm with psalms by the cathedral's chorus, followed by Christmas prayers.

“We thank President Mohamed Morsy for delegating his representative to the event,” said Father Yuhanna Qulta, who led the service. The event was also attended by representatives for the interior minister and Al-Azhar.

“Throughout my life, I have never seen Al-Azhar exhibiting extremism. We are praying for Egypt, and also for Al-Azhar to maintain its moderation,” Qulta said. “We pray for President Morsy, whom I had the honor to meet three times and witness before God that he sincerely seeks to push Egypt forward. We pray for him and for those who collaborate with him.”

Qulta said he, personally, prays for the Freedom and Justice Party, the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm. "I invite all forces to engage in dialogue with them. Egypt will not see progress except with the help of all its parties."

Statistical experts say Catholics and Evangelicals account for 10 percent of the country's Christians, while 90 percent are Orthodox.

Edited translation from MENA

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FJP invites opposition to comprehensive dialogue over future

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December 24th, 2012

The Freedom and Justice Party on Sunday invited opposition forces, led by the National Salvation Front, to an unconditional comprehensive dialogue over how to approach Egypt’s problems in the coming months, less than a day after preliminary results indicated that the draft constitution had been approved.

“We can talk now that the reasons pressuring the opposition to refuse [the constitution] have gone,” Ibrahim Abu Ouf, an FJP member, told Turkish-run Anadolu Agency.

Ouf added that there would be laws complementary to the constitution that need national consensus, such as the Judicial Authority Law, the Elections Law, the Shura Council Law and the Demonstrations Law.

FJP member Gamal Heshmat said the dialogue should have an agenda that serves as a springboard for the coming phase.

Mohamed al-Beltagy, another FJP member, said the Muslim Brotherhood and National Salvation Front will find consensus in the coming months, especially pertaining to certain constitutional amendments.

“Let us have this Friday be a day of national reconciliation and give each other flowers,” he suggested.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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