Building and Development Party’s founder member: Party violates law

Cairo – A founder member of Building and Development Party, political wing Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya (Islamic group), said the party breached some articles of political parties’ law.

Montaser Omran, former leading figure of Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya, made his remarks on Wednesday after the party’s leaders accepted the resignation of Tarek Al-Zomor from the party leadership on Tuesday, June 27.

Omarn explained that there were dissenting voices after Al-Zomor had been elected as head of the party due to flagrant violations because the leader of the party should be present among members, while Al-Zomor is a fugitive from Egypt, where he is convicted of several charges. Moreover, Al-Zomor was placed on terror lists along with 58 other Islamists associated with Qatar. The lists were released by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain after they severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, on June 5, for supporting terrorism.

Omarn reiterated that Al-Zomor made anti-Egyptian state statements incited people to commit violence. “The party has recently attempted to overcome this crisis through accepting Al-Zomor’s resignation and holding new elections after the Political Parties Affairs Committee referred the party’s case to the Administrative Court to dissolve it,” Omran said. 

Omran pointed out that the committee’s decision has been taken in terms of violations made by the party through breaching some articles of the political parties’ law, noting that the party will be dissolved within one month after reviewing the case documents by the court.

Omran thinks that it is difficult for the party to overcome such a crisis due to clear violations it made, including linking with the Muslim Brotherhood, which was recently designated as a terrorist group, in addition to discrimination since females have no role in the party, which has no Christian members.

Although members of the party warned that the dissolution could provoke anger and lead to violence nationwide, Omran stressed that such warnings are not on the cards due to divisions and disunity suffered by Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya.

In a statement posted on Wednesday on his Facebook official page, Al-Zomor sent thanks to the party’s members and leaders, who accepted the resignation on Tuesday.  Al-Zomor tendered his resignation on Monday, June 26.

Al-Zomor, 58, was re-elected head of the party in April for a four-year mandate, although he has been living in Qatar since the army’s 2013 overthrow of former Islamist President Mohammad Morsi, following enormous street protests against the latter’s divisive rule.

Al-Zomor, a staunch supporter of Morsi’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group, is charged in Egypt in several cases related to terrorism and incitement to violence.

Tarek and his cousin Aboud Al-Zomor were convicted of planning the assassination of Egyptian late president Anwar Sadat in 1981, but Tarek was released in 2011 and fled to Qatar about two years later.

There have been growing calls in Egypt to dissolve the Building and Development Party.