Ten Egyptian political parties, including the ousted National Democratic Party (NDP), have threatened to organize a mass protest in Cairo’s Tahrir Square if the current military-dominated government implements a proposal to ban from politics persons associated with the former Mubarak regime. The ban was discussed at an October 2 meeting between the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), Egypt’s interim ruling body, and members of the Democratic Alliance, one of Egypt’s largest new political blocs. The two groups are set to meet again on the afternoon of October 4 to discuss the ban further.
The NDP and associated parties said that they would go to the streets and organize a million-man march on Tahrir Square, the scene of mass protests earlier this year that are credited with the downfall of dictator Hosni Mubarak. “We will not leave Tahrir to demonstrate legally. It is not logical for the military council to respond to the minority working to pressure the council,” Egyptian Citizen Party Salah Hasab-Allah said to Egypt’s Youm7 newspaper. Former NDP members sent a statement to the SCAF stating that the ban would infringe on their political, judicial and human rights.
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