The election of the Higher Committee of Egypt’s largest liberal party, al-Wafd, witnessed on Friday a heated race under the supervision of the party chief, Bahaa Eldeen Abou Shoka, at its headquarters in Giza Province.
The internal elections are aimed at improving the party's ranks within Egypt’s opposition, and preparing it for the local polls, which are expected to be held within two years.
“Wafd’s election of its Higher Committee is very important and would allow the party to become an essential partner in political life in the coming phase,” sources said.
There were 116 candidates competing for 50 seats. A large number of party members attended Friday’s elections as police increased patrols around the party headquarters in Dokki to prevent security incidents.
Around 5,775 party members are eligible to vote for the Higher Committee.
Wafd, founded in 1918 by nationalist leader Saad Zaghloul, was one of Egypt’s most instrumental political currents during the struggle against the British occupation of the country following the First World War.
It is sometimes called the “New Wafd Party” because of its extension of the original party that was dismantled after the 1952 Revolution.
The party resumed its political activities in 1978 during the presidential term of Anwar Saddat, who allowed for political pluralism.
Observers said the party faces huge challenges as Egypt holds local elections next year and parliamentary polls in 2020.
Abou Shoka, an Egyptian lawyer and a professor of public law, said: “Wafd supporters prove day by day that the party constitutes the moral sense of the Egyptian nation.”
In a speech delivered during Friday’s elections, Abou Shoka asserted the party does not depend on any other group or person but acts based on its own interests.
Observers in Egypt believe that Abou Shoka succeeded to unify the party, ending internal disputes, a move that would allow Wafd regain its historic role in Egypt’s political life.
