Nation's Future Party
Future of the Nation Party حزب مستقبل وطن | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairman | Ashraf Rashad |
| Secretary-General | Hossam El-Khouly |
| Founded | November 2014 |
| Headquarters | Heliopolis, Egypt[1] |
| Ideology |
Populism Secularism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| National affiliation | For the Love of Egypt[2] |
| Colors | Blue |
| House of Representatives |
53 / 596
|
Nation's Future Party (also known as the Future of the Nation Party or Mostaqbal Watan) is a political party in Egypt. It was founded in 2014 and has grown to become one of Egypt's largest political parties. The Party Chairman is Ashraf Rashad.
History
The party was set up in 2014, composed mainly of Egyptian youth who wanted to bring change to the political atmosphere from traditional policies of seniority according to age. In recent months, however, many established parliamentarians have joined the party, a large number of whom were members of the now-dissolved National Democratic Party.
It is officially the second largest party in the Egyptian Parliament, having won 53 seats in the 2015 Egyptian Parliamentary Elections.[3] However, it is deemed to be the largest party in Parliament due to, as of yet, the unofficial resignation of more than 50 members of parliament from their respective parties in favor of joining the ranks of the Future of the Nation Party.
Parliamentary elections (2015)
The Future of the Nation Party ran in the 2015 Parliamentary Elections as part of the "For the Love of Egypt" electoral alliance, which won all 120 party seats in the Parliament.[4]
It was subsequently allocated 53 seats in Parliament, making it the second largest party, after the Free Egyptians Party, which won 65 seats, and ahead of the Wafd Party, Egypt's oldest political party.
Aftermath of 2018 presidential elections
In 2018, after all political parties save for the Ghad Party, led by Moussa Mostafa Moussa, failed to put forward candidates for the March 2018 Presidential Elections, calls to merge Egypt's some 104 political parties into four or five strong parties increased. In response, efforts began to strengthen the presence of powerful parties in the Egyptian political scene, primarily led by the heavyweights among Egypt's parties - the Free Egyptians Party, the Future of the Nation Party, and the Wafd Party - as well as the Support Egypt Coalition, which holds 400 out of 597 seats in the Egyptian Parliament.[5]
In April 2018, the Support Egypt Coalition announced that it would seek to merge all of its constituent parties and members into one new party, which would then hold a parliamentary majority. However, this faced two main obstacles:
- Article 6 of the 2014 House of Representatives Law allows stripping membership of any member of parliament who changes the political affiliation by which they were elected, provided there is a 2/3 majority parliamentary vote in support of this
- Many political parties within the coalition rejected the idea of dissolving their own parties in favor of this new party, in particular, the Future of the Nation Party, which is the largest party in the coalition
Growth of Egypt's largest political party
In April 2018, the "For the Sake of Egypt" alliance, which was the largest and most organized civilian campaign set up to support President Sisi in his campaign for a second term in office,[6] announced plans to become a political party. However, this did not come to be, as in May 2018 the Future of the Nation Party and the "For the Sake of Egypt" alliance made a surprise announcement in a joint press conference that the alliance would merge into the party, and that the party's official name would be changed at the Annual Party Conference in October 2018 to the Future of Egypt Party.
Following the announcement, around 50 MPs resigned from their parties and joined the Future of the Nation Party. The majority came from the Free Egyptians and Wafd parties, however, there were many independents and other party members too[7]. Some estimates put the number at 75 parliamentarians in total who joined the party. However, until the House of Representatives Law is changed to allow switching parties, none of the MPs have officially notified the Speaker of the House that they have changed parties, for fear of being stripped of their Parliamentary membership.
Thus the Future of the Nation Party is currently unofficially Egypt's largest party in Parliament.
Policies
The Egyptian Armed Forces
The party has always stood firmly behind the Egyptian Armed Forces, believing that Egyptians need to unite behind the Army and the Police Force in their fight against terrorism in defense of the nation[8]. It is firmly against the deployment of Egyptian troops in Syria, asserting that the Egyptian Armed Forces should only protect Egypt, and that it is not in Egypt's interest to get involved in the armed conflict in Syria.
Economic reforms
The Future of the Nation Party has always stood firmly behind the President when it comes to economic reforms. They supported the subsidy cuts on fuel, electricity, and water, and were strong supporters of the New Investment Law and the liberalization of the Egyptian Pound.
Party leaders have often stated their support for the IMF-backed economic reform program, believing that it is the only way to help Egypt recover from the effects of the 2011 Revolution and to create a modern, powerful Egyptian state, despite the hardships that are being faced at the moment as a result.[9]
Foreign affairs
When it comes to foreign affairs, the party's stances tend to revolve around the concept that Egypt plays a pivotal role in the region and is a powerful state in what is otherwise a very uncertain part of the world. As such, the party strongly supports reaching out and forming bridges with as many nations as possible, especially in the fight against terrorism.
The party has often shown support for sister states in the Arab World, particularly within the GCC. Given Egypt's military strength and the warm relations enjoyed with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, it has supported calls to protect the Gulf states from foreign interference, particularly from Iran. It also believes in the importance of the state's efforts to put an end to the conflicts in Syria and Libya and to reach a peaceful solution to the Palestinian conflict.
Reaching out to African states has also been a priority. The party has regularly lobbied the government to exert all efforts to improve relations with the African continent, which were arguably non-existent for the latter part of the Mubarak era.[10]
The party also regularly sends diplomatic delegations to foreign countries in preparation for state visits by the President of the Republic.[11]
References
- ↑ "The President's Men". The Atlantic Council. 9 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
- ↑ ""فى حب مصر": اعتماد 4 منسقين لقوائم القطاعات الأربعة و10 أحزاب مشاركة". Youm7. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
- ↑ Editorial, Reuters. "Egypt loyalists take the lead in parliament elections". U.S. Retrieved 2018-06-20.
- ↑ "The impossible parliamentary alliance". Mada Masr. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
- ↑ "Why parliament's majority 'Support Egypt' coalition aims to merge its parties - Egypt Today". www.egypttoday.com. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
- ↑ ""All With You For The Sake of Egypt' campaign holds a conference in Ismailia to support Sisi". Sada El Balad (in Arabic). Retrieved 2018-06-21.
- ↑ ""مستقبل وطن": 50 نائبًا من "المصريين الأحرار" انضموا للحزب". مصراوي.كوم (in Arabic). Retrieved 2018-06-21.
- ↑ "رئيس "مستقبل وطن": نقف خلف القيادة السياسية صفا واحد". 2018-02-09. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
- ↑ "رئيس مستقبل وطن: مصر تتوخى الرضا الشعبى فى إجراءاتها الاقتصادية وهذا صعب - اليوم السابع". اليوم السابع (in Arabic). 2018-02-01. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
- ↑ EraCore.NET. "حزب مستقبل وطن: على الحكومة توجيه اهتمامها إلى إفريقيا - الصفحة نيوز". alsafhanews.com (in Arabic). Retrieved 2018-06-21.
- ↑ "وفد "مستقبل وطن" يشارك الجالية المصرية بأمريكا استقبال السيسي". 2017-04-03. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
