Just a few days before his wedding in Sharm el-Sheik (in which Amr Diab will sing), Gamal Mubarak confirmed that he has no intentions to become the Prime Minister or the President of Egypt.  Dr. Abdel Wahab ElMassiry, the coordinator of Kefaya, stated to Al-Arabia that this statment is not enough – Gamal Mubarak's actions must be consistent with his words. Although it is not stated in the constution that the President must be married, ElMassiry considered Gamal's marraige to be a social appearance required for any President. Dr. Abdulmonem Aboalftoh, leader in the Muslim Brothers, said that the Muslim Brothers are not concerned about Gamal Mubarak being the next President, but rather that they are concerned about the inheritance of the presidency, which has happened since the 1952 Revolution.

ElMassiry said that the latest statements of Gamal would not stop Kefaya from continuing to talk about their refusal of Presidential inheritance, saying that "we must continue what we are doing so that the government will be committed to their statements. A while ago, Mubarak said that there would not be any Presidential inheritance because Egypt is not Syria, but at the same time, there are many indications that are bothersome. For example, the last set of constitutional amendments – what was the point? The continuous forging of the elections, not authorizing new parties like Alawasat and AlKarama, and not authorizing demonstrations are also troubling to us."

“That really worries us” 

Dr. ElMassiry also worries that things are happening in the back to prepare the political environment for something.  It would have been better if the government, instead of issuing these statements, would have cancelled the last constitutional amendments and approved the Alawasat and AlKarama parties. If that would have happened, it would add credibility and ease a lot of fears. 

Dr. ElMassiry also added that Kefaya would continue until the government acts in a way that confirms their statements – words are not enough. This follows the common Egyptian phrase “I hear your words, I like it. I see what you do, I wonder.”

Although the constitution does not require the President to be married, there are reasons for considering a wedding (which is a normal occurance on all social levels) as a step in the succession of the presidency. ElMassiry said that it has to do with the social figure – we cannot imagine a President of Egypt who is not married. Every society has it owns priorities and tradition, and this falls among the traditions of Egypt.

ElMassiry demanded the cancelling of all the last constitutional amendments. He described them as “terrible” and said they did not address the required amendments, like how many terms a President can have – which remains unlimited. President Mubarak’s next term will be his 6th, and that has never happened before in anywhere else in the world.

When he was asked if there were to be true elections, strong parties, and limited terms for a President, would Kefaya would accept Gamal Mubarak’s nomination of himself in this election, ElMassiry replied, “Yes that is possible - but I am not in a position to make a statement in the name of Kefaya. As a coordinator, I have no right to state anything in Kefaya’s name until a decision has been made with the coordination committee. Personally, I don’t mind that, but I would rather wait until the government changes its current position, makes new procedures, and in that case we will have something new to talk about.”

This issue doesn’t bother the Muslim Brothers

From his side, Aboalftoh said “I do not insist on raising the issue of Gamal’s succession, I also disagree with people who want to raise it, as we – in the Muslim Brothers – think the succession issue is more dangerous. We are concerned about the mechanism in which the presidency is transferred to the next successor, we are not concerned about Gamal or anyone else in particular.” 

Aboalftoh also said that the Muslim Brothers are concerned in the ways in which someone can become the next President: “we see it as very un-democratic, which is a problem. It is wrong to think of Gamal Mubarak individually because that will divert us from the main subject that we need to be addressing.” He also added that deciding the President of Egypt does not happen in a democratic way and does not express the will of the people – it only happens through political succession, by the decision of the President. This is the same way that it happened between Sadat and Mubarak, and it is a problem:

“We have to look carefully to this true problem because such ways should not be used to decide the next President – it has been like that since July 1952. The President has a position with so much authority.

What we are after is that the position of the President will be decided with direct and free elections, where every Egyptian citizen, regardless of his color or race, can nominate himself as long as the citizen meets the requirements of Article 75 of the constitution. There can be ways to make sure that the nomination is serious – for example, he has to get 10,000 signatures or pay a specific amount of money, as it is in other countries.

Let all those who want to nominate themselves to be the next President of Egypt and who meet the requirements of Article 75 and come together for free and true elections that will truly express the people’s will. This is the issue that concerns us in the Muslim Brothers and we should address it instead of talking about personal matters like, for example, marriage. If there is going to be real circulation of power, then there has to be a set number of terms for the Presidency, not more than 2 terms.”

Gamal is amazed about the interpretations of his statement 

Gamal Mubarak, chairman of the Politics Committee, said in an interview with Gamal Enayat on Tuesday the 1st of May that he does not want any administrative job and has no intentions to nominate himself for the Presidency. He does not want the nomination of the NDP, and he also said that he is amazed how any reforms in the NDP are linked to political succession.

Gamal Mubarak was asked if he wishes to nominate himself for the Presidency or at least for Prime Minister, and he replied “I do not have any intentions to become part of any administrative work, and I’ve said that more than once. I see that I can only serve as much as my experience, as much as I can add with collaborative work, and with respect to people inside the party.”

He denied that he seeks to form a new party by saying “This talk started in the 1990s, and was linked to the Gil Almostakbl organization, in which I am the chairman. It was said that it was a beginning of a new party. I replied by saying that it can’t be farther from the truth.”

Again, Gamal was asked if he would nominate himself in the next elections, and again he said no, and when he was asked if NDP wanted him to nominate himself, he said “they cannot force me if I don’t have the intention for it.”

Amr Diab Sings in the Wedding

Gamal talked about the arrangement of his wedding in Sharm el-Sheik on Saturday, May 5th 2007, saying “like any other family that celebrates a wedding, with my Father and my Mother, I had my akd alkawran a few days ago, and the President called for a reception in Cairo including some officials and friends of the family. In two days, there will be a family party in Sharm el-Sheik just like any other wedding.”

Gamal added that it is not a secret that Amr Diab is going to be there and said “I love him. He is an exceptional Egyptian artist and his reputation precedes him inside and outside the Arabic world.”