Resignations Sweep Egyptian Political Parties

A wave of resignations swept political parties in Egypt in what may be a precursor to more drastic developments in the coming days.

The two parties that were mostly affected by the resignations were the Free Egyptians Party (FEP) and the Wafd party.

On Monday, Hossam El-Khouly, deputy head of the Wafd Party, announced he will submit his resignation to the party's head, Bahaa Abu Shoqa.

He announced that he will be joining another party, the Nation's Future Party, where he will hold a leading position.

His resignation coincided with a similar decision by former chairperson of the Wafd Party, Al-Sayed Al-Badawi, who announced he was stepping from the party's consultative council.

Al-Badawi first joined Wafd in 1983 and became its secretary general in 2000. He was elected as the party’s leader in 2010 and 2014.

Soon after his announcement, the party announced on Tuesday



that former army spokesman, Mohammed Samir will be joining its ranks as assistant chairman for Youth affairs.

At the Free Egyptians Party, MP Alaa Abed, head of its parliamentary committee, tendered Tuesday his resignation with reports saying he might be joined by a number of other lawmakers from the same party. They are likely to join the Nation's Future Party.

Ahmed al-Shaer, Nation's Future Party spokesman, confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Khouly is joining the party as secretary general.

However, he said: “There is still no confirmation whether MP Abed or any other independent MP will join the party.”

The Egyptian parliament includes more than 590 deputies, 60 of whom are independents.

During the 2015 parliamentary elections, the FEP garnered the greatest number of seats with 65.

The Nation's Future Party, which was founded in 2015, came in second with 53 seats.