Two liberal parties to merge

The Social Democratic Party and Adl Party will hold a meeting next Sunday announcing the merging of the parties.

The decision comes as parliamentary elections are expected to be held within three months.

The committee of 50, responsible for amending the suspended 2012 Constitution, has recommended a mixed system between presidential and parliamentary bodies.

The proposed amendments gives parliament the right to name the prime minster and the president is obliged to adhere to this nomination if it has a 51 percent majority in parliament.

Amid the security crackdown and social hostility to the Islamist parties, it is expected that the liberal and secular parties will gain more seats in the parliament. In the 2011 parliamentary elections, liberal and secular parties were able to win 26 percent of the seats. Some observers suggest that this time around, they may win a majority.

Both the Social Democratic Party and Adl Party were in a civil alliance called the Egyptian bloc with a further 10 liberal and leftist parties in the 2011 parliamentary elections.