Political point-scoring

The leftist Tagammu Party navigates troubled waters, reports Mona El-Nahhas

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Rifaat El-Said

Members of the leftist Tagammu Party's Youth Union met with party chairman Rifaat El-Said on Monday afternoon to try and resolve a two-week old dispute revolving around attempts to withdraw confidence from Union member Zeyad Farag. Accused of neglecting his responsibilities, Farag was removed from his post by the union's secretariat general late last month. El-Said refused to recognise the decision, throwing the party into disarray. Members of the Youth Union staged a sit-in at the Tagammu headquarters to protest against El-Said's refusal. The media was not allowed to cover the sit-in following clashes with the party's security staff.

Meanwhile, El-Said was subject to attacks on a host of websites, accused by young members of the party of acting like a dictator.

Three leading members subsequently submitted their resignations, including assistant secretary- general Magdi Sharabeya. "What El-Said did is totally unacceptable. It was in flagrant violation of party statutes," he said.

El-Said later met with the three party officials and convinced them to withdraw their resignations. He promised to convene a meeting with members of the Youth Union to discuss changes in the membership of its executive bureau.

On Monday the Youth Union once again issued a vote of no confidence in Farag. After two hours of heated discussions 21 out of the 33 assembled members voted to replace him with Khaled Telema, the union's original choice as Farag's replacement. Samir Nabil and Mamdouh Makram, two members of the Youth Union's executive bureau were also ousted, and will be replaced by Mahmoud Rizq and Nasser Abdel-Hakim. Following Monday's meeting El-Said invited Youth Union representatives to Iftar.

Although conflict over the Youth Union appears to be over, few observers think it marks an end to the Tagammu's recent troubles.

El-Said has been accused of tightening his grip over party affairs and acting unilaterally, thereby marginalising other elected officials.

He has long been at loggerheads with Tagammu Secretary-General Sayed Abdel-Aal, and the party has divided into two camps.

El-Said's critics regularly accuse him of being too close to the government.

Voices inside the party have called repeatedly at general conferences for El-Said to distance himself from the regime but to little avail. Internal differences appeared to have reached a head when, in 2007, the Tagammu's then deputy chairman Abul-Ezz El-Hariri went public with his concerns over the party's waning popularity. As a result he was dismissed from his post.

The El-Hariri affair has continued to haunt the party and is expected to be discussed during next month's central committee meeting. El-Hariri has vowed to sue El-Said if he is banned from the discussions.

"El Said has no right to prevent me attending. It would be a flagrant violation of the party's internal statutes," El-Hariri insists.