Parties consider Sisi’s call for a unified electoral list unfeasible

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi’s invitation for political parties to form a unified list in the upcoming parliamentary elections has been met with questions: If all parties unite in one list, who would they compete against? And what would be the point of the elections in this case?

Several parties told Mada Masr that the focus of each political party on its own interests will make it difficult to put this proposition into effect.

In a meeting held with political parties on Monday, Sisi proposed the formation of a unified list for the upcoming parliamentary elections, asserting that this would allow for the election of the most capable candidates, putting aside political interests.

Yehia Kadry, the vice president of the National Movement Party, who attended the meeting with Sisi, told Mada Masr: “The president talked about a list that would unite political parties on a patriotic basis, why would we create a new list while we already have the coalition headed by Kamal al-Ganzoury, which observes national interest in the formation of its list?” Kadry was referring to the coalition formed by the Mubarak-era prime minister which includes the parties closest to the current administration, including his.

The vice president of the party, founded by former Presidential Candidate Ahmed Shafiq. added that the party would invite all others to join its coalition. However, he says the invitation will not include any Islamist parties, regardless of their political position, adding “we’ve seen enough from Islamist parties.”

“The National Movement Party has enough figures to stand alone in the elections but we have put the national interest first and joined Ganzoury’s coalition,” he adds. Answering the question about the point of the elections if all parties ran on one list, Kadry says that lists only determine 20 percent of the seats and there will still be electoral competition for the remaining individual seats.

Kadry said that he supports Sisi’s invitation pending the other parties’ approval, saying that the preposition is already in line with the party’s approach to the elections: “We have put the demands of the political moment first while others focused on getting the most seats.”

Omar Semeida, the head of the conference party, founded by politician Amr Moussa, said that the president’s proposition is ideal but impossible to put into practice. “Every party sees itself as the most important and wants to have the most seats,” he says.

Semeida explains that the negotiations between his party and Al-Wafd Party, who are running on the same list, have been challenging, saying that it would be impossible to engage in this complicated process with all parties.

The head of the Social Democratic Party Mohamed Aboul Ghar told Mada Masr that the meeting was amicable and didn’t witness any conflicts.

However, a source who attended the meeting and requested anonymity said that there was some controversy during the meeting regarding the protest law and the new NGO law.

Aboul Ghar brought up both issues while the Tagammu Party refused to discuss them, accusing NGOs of working against the interests of the country.

He says that Sisi expressed concerns that the Muslim Brotherhood would use any amendments to the Protest Law to their interest.

Aboul Ghar asserted that it’s important for the state and its institutions to remain neutral regarding the elections, adding that the Ganzoury list casts a doubt on this neutrality as he is one of the president’s advisers and that some of the coalition’s meetings are held in government buildings.

Sisi responded firmly to this concern, according to Aboul Ghar, asserting that the state doesn’t support any coalition in the elections and that he would make that public so there is no confusion. Sisi added that the government will only support a list if it’s a unified national list that unites all parties.