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EOHR workshop: 'Towards a new political parties law'
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15/7/2007
The Egyptian Organization for Hun Rights (EOHR) is holding a workshop, 'Towards a new political parties law' on Monday 16th July 2007 at 6 p.m. in the Journalists' Syndicate, Port Said. Judges, university profess, members of the People's Assembly and Shura Council, members of political parties and civil society activists will take part in the workshop.
Hafez Abu Seada, EOHR's Secretary General made clear that the workshop seeks to gather together laws and provisions of the Egyptian Constitution governing the formation of political parties and their activities, and also draft new political parties law which will fully implement the freedom to form political parties.
Political Parties Law 40 [1977] imposes a number of arbitrary restrictions limiting the formation of political parties. It stipulates that political parties' principles, objective, platform and policies must not be in conflict with Islamic Sharia law or the values of he July 1952 and May 1971 revolutions. It also states that political parties should preserve national unity, social peace, the socialist democratic system and the gains made by socialism. In addition the party's programme must be distinct from those of existing parties at the time of the party's notification of formation. The notification must be presented, in writing to the head of the Committee on Political Parties' Affairs and must be signed, officially, by fifty founder members. Half of this number at least must be made up of workers or fellaheen. This restriction is in conflict with the freedom to form political parties, and the requirement that certain members be drawn from certain sectors of society violates the principle of equality laid down in the Constitution.
Law 40 [1977] was amended by Law 177 [2005], which imposes the most recent restrictions on the right to form political parties. Law 177 lays down the same conditions as Law 40, but in addition requires that the written notification sent to the head of the Committee on Political Parties' Affairs be signed by at least 1000 founder members from at least ten governorates. At least fifty members must come from each governorate. Law 177 also gives the Committee on Political Parties' Affairs the same powers as those it enjoyed under Law 40.
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