Egyptian political party leaders react to Sisi’s merger proposal
As Egypt prepares for parliamentary elections in November, political party representatives examine what's needed to implement the president's advice to consolidate the country's more than 100 parties.
CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently reiterated his call for political parties to merge under the banners of four or five strong parties to boost democratic competition, which he said has become stale.
There are more than 100 political parties in Egypt, the majority of which were established after the 2011 revolution that toppled the regime of President Hosni Mubarak.
Sisi told reporters during a Dec. 26 news conference in Fayoum governorate, “We have talked a lot about having over 100 parties. I am not saying all of them should be merged, but there could at least be four or five entities they could be joined under, so as to be able to achieve political reform as soon as possible in terms of parties and their masses.”
Sisi's frequently repeated proposal has been well-received by the Wafd Party, one of Egypt’s largest and oldest political parties. The nationalist liberal organization has 36 seats in the 596-seat parliament, which is dominated by independents who are generally loyal to Sisi. While many of the independents were financed by political parties, these legislators are prevented from formally joining the parties by the constitution; a way around this issue may be sought.
