President Mohamed Morsi has dismissed his advisor on environmental affairs, Khaled Alam El-Din, Sunday. El-Din, who was appointed last August, is a leading member of the Salafist El-Nour Party.
While no official statement giving a reason for El-Din's dismissal was released, Al-Jazeera reported that the sacking came after monitoring reports suggested that El-Din "attempted to use his position for personal benefits."
El-Din commented on the matter to Ahram Arabic website, saying he knew nothing of the decision and has not been informed officially. "I keep calling the presidency, but no one is picking up" he said.
"I am on my way to El-Nour Party headquarters to study the case and formulate an official response … I am shocked by the decision and awaiting to see the monitoring reports accusing me of using my position for personal benefit."
"They may have seen the contacts and communication I made with ministers to discuss and resolve the country's problems as a use of my position, [which would] prove that they offered me this position as a façade."
El-Din was offered the post of environment minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Hisham Qandil in August. However, he turned down the offer to protest the small number of Cabinet posts offered to El-Nour Party members.
El-Nour, which dominated at least 24 per cent of the parliamentary seats in 2011, was only offered one position in Qandil's Cabinet despite it having suggested several candidates for governmental posts. The party then decided to reject any position in the Morsi-appointed Cabinet.
On 9 February, a delegation of El-Nour Party members met with President Morsi in an attempt to resolve the current political crisis and national polarisation. During the meeting the Salafist party asserted the necessity of forming a new government representative of all political forces in Egypt.
