The party was announced at an event in Egypt’s new administrative capital [Getty]
Egyptian tycoon Ibrahim Al-Arjani, who is known for his close ties to Egyptian security services and former ministers, governors and political figures, has launched a new party called the National Front on Monday.
Al-Arjani made the announcement at a ceremony held in a hotel owned by the Egyptian army in the new administrative capital, according to The New Arab’s Arabic language sister publication, Al-Araby al-Jadeed.
The party is made up of former housing minister Assem el-Gazzar, the head of the presidency’s information authority, Diaa Rashwan and former investment minister, Sahar Nasr.
Others in the party have been named as former house of representatives speaker, Ali Abdel Aal, former agriculture minister, Sayed el-Qusair, former state council chairman, Mohamed Hossam el-Din, and the current deputy speaker of the house of representatives, Mohamed Abu el-Enien.
Journalists, businesspeople, writers and other prominent former ministers were also included in the party.
According to reports, Member of Parliament Suleiman Wahdan, who is embroiled in several corruption cases, is also on the party’s committee alongside Ayman el-Gamil, previously convicted in a case that led local media to dub him the “minister of agricultural corruption.”
Many of the members of the party attended the ceremony on Monday, including former National Security Agency officer Ahmed Abdel Gawad, who is a police officer previously convicted in a torture case against Ahmed Abdel Abed.
Following the announcement of the party, el-Gazzar said: “We adopt a balanced approach with an equal distance between pro-state loyalty and opposition, and we aim to represent the voice of every Egyptian”.
“The goal is to unite the political community in a period that cannot tolerate dispersion” he added.
According to the former minister, many meetings were held with political figures from across the spectrum prior to the announcement of the party.
‘Former fugitive’
Critics highlighted that the party was based on personal relations and alliances rather than reflecting the aspirations of Egyptians.
Al-Arjani is widely known for his influence in the Sinai Peninsula, with some describing the party as “an attempt to promote tribal interests in the political scene and bringing back former political figures”.
According to the Egyptian Youm7 news site, the party was launched under the slogan “Egypt for all”.
“All Egyptian society is represented in the party’s founding body” the news site added, highlighting the inclusion of businessmen, parliamentarians, a former Mufti and figures from the opposition.
However, according to Mada Masr, al-Arjani was a “former fugitive who, in less than a decade, became a partner in the Egyptian military’s war on terror in Sinai and one of the country’s most influential businessmen who also holds a monopoly on trips facilitating the passage of Palestinians out of Gaza before Israel invaded and occupied the border”.
The news site also alleged that in the last round of parliamentary elections, their correspondents saw campaign organisers facilitating material compensation in exchange for votes, resulting in an overwhelming majority for the Nation’s Future Party.
