Abul-Fotouh's Strong Egypt Party to participate in elections

The Strong Egypt Party is to participate in coming elections for the House of Representatives, Egypt's lower house of parliament, announced its chairman Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh at a press conference Tuesday.


Formerly a leading Muslim Brotherhood figure, Abul-Fotouh ran as an independent candidate in last year's presidential elections, securing fourth place."We have to fight the attempt to monopolise power by one party," said Abul-Fotouh.
Many other opposition parties have decided to boycott the election. The National Salvation Front (NSF), a major opposition bloc that brings together the Constitution Party, the Wafd Party, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party as well as several others announced it will boycott the elections, saying that the polls would not be free and fair.
President Mohamed Morsi has urged political parties to engage in dialogue to end the current political deadlock.
Many political parties, however, boycotted the dialogue sessions. The NSF refused to engage in dialogue with the president until key pre-conditions are met, including the appointment of a new prosecutor-general in accordance with the constitution and the amending of Egypt's new constitution.
The upcoming parliamentary elections will take place over four phases, starting on 22 April and ending on 24 June.