Is Egypt's Gamaa Islamiya returning to political life?
Gamaa Islamiya’s political wing publicly launched its elections last month with the consent of Egypt's security apparatus, which raises questions about the return of the Islamist group to the political scene.
CAIRO — The elections conducted within the Building and Development Party, the Gamaa Islamiya’s political wing, raised questions about the return of the group to political life. Ever since the ousting of former President Mohammed Morsi on July 3, 2013, the party has been out of political life as it announced its participation in the Anti-Coup Alliance and forged an alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood against the current regime. The Building and Development Party elections began April 8 and end May 13, and will lead to the election of new secretaries across Egypt as well as new higher commission members and a new chairman.
The restructuring plan, announced April 3 by the Building and Development Party, starts with the provincial elections, to be followed by the party's higher commission election and then the chairman election.
The party's secretary-general, Gamal Samak, sent a letter April 17 to the party members urging them to participate in the elections. “Over the past four years, there have only been leadership positions [for show] without the holders of these positions participating in the party's work. Meanwhile, others were weak participants. Therefore, we call upon all the party members who have the time and can make the effort to participate in the party's work to run for leadership positions,” Samak said in the letter published on the party’s website.
The Building and Development Party’s announcement of its holding of comprehensive elections raises several questions, especially considering that these elections are openly conducted without fear from the current regime despite the fact that several Gamaa Islamiya leaders were arrested. Chief among these was the chairman of the Gamaa Islamiya Shura Council, Issam Darbala, who was detained in May 2015 on charges of inciting to violence and who died due to health problems in prison on Aug. 9, 2015. Does the public restructuring of the party reflect a prelude to its return to political life and reconciliation with the current regime?
