CAIRO - Low-income brackets have said they will set up a political party after Government's restrictions that prevented them and other groups from doing so under President Hosni Mubarak have been lifted.
The spokesman for the group, which combines menial job workers, peasants, and marginalised people, said in a statement that low-income bracket people had declared their desire to set up a party to defend their rights and previlges.
When the popular demand for the freedom to form parties has been realised after the January 25 Revolution, the low-income people will found their own party," Mostafa Hassanein said.
Hassanein said that the planned party would seek a parliamentary represntaiton in elections, which will be held in September.
All members of marginalised classes are invited to join the party regardless to their religion, or menial job nature because it will be a plateform for defending their socio-economic rights, which have been ignored for 30 years," Hassanein said.
He said that he had already started taking the necessary legal measures to establish the party, whose official name has not be declared yet.
"Under the Mubarak regime life for marginalised and lowly-paid workers was a farce," said Hussein, who urged all low-income people to join his party to give it all the strength and popular backing it needed.
"All elements of the low and lower middle classes, regardless to their religious background, are invited to join this party, whose main purpose is to defend their political and economic rights," Hassanein said.
He said that he hoped the party would finally come into being shortly before the September parliamentary polls.
“I have had a dialogue with the poor and marginalised members of the society about the mission statement of this party and the role it can play to defend their rights in parliament," Hasanein said, adding that he had got all the support he needed to form the party.
He added the collapse of the ex-ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) has proved that it never represented the marginalized people, or cared about improving their socio-economic status.
Hassanein said that planned party would comparise Copts, who are 10 per cent of Egypt's 82 million people, among its members.
"The party wants Muslims and Christians to join it," he said, expecting that the party willl draw support from the middle classes.
"It supports social justice and equality with a role for the state in defending the poor and marginalized people," Hassanein said, adding that when he obtains a formal license, the party will be able to build its membership and open offices nation wide.
"I hope that the prevailing atmosphere of freedom will help found the party very soon," Hassanein said.
