Salafist Al-Nour Party elects new leadership

CAIRO- 25 April 2017: The General Assembly of Egypt’s Salafist Al-Nour party will hold elections to choose a new leadership on Tuesday.

The current party’s chairperson Younis Makhioun will run for another term. The 61-year-old chairperson is the only candidate, and expected to be elected by acclamation.

The General Assembly will elect new members for the Higher Authority of the party. Prominent candidates running for the authority’s membership include deputy chairperson Al-Sayed Khalifa, the party’s secretary-general Galal Morra, former parliamentarian Mohamed Ibrahim and assistant to the chairperson Nader Bakar, according to a statement by the party on Monday.

Al-Nour party has been accused of being established on religious basis, which contradicts with the 2014 constitution; consequently two lawsuits accused the party of being religious and called for dissolving it.

However, in February, the High Administrative Court rejected one lawsuit, and dismissed the other on 15 April.