The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest political opposition group, said it plans to establish itself as a formal party in anticipation of legal changes that may permit it to take part in elections. The party will be formed “at the nearest possible opportunity,” the group’s spokesman, Mohamed Morsey, said in a telephone interview today.
The Muslim Brotherhood waited two days before saying it would join the protests that led to the fall of President Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11. The group said it shared the goals of the hundreds of thousands who rallied for 18 days, including seeking an end to Mubarak’s 30-year rule, a new constitution, an end to the country’s emergency law, open elections and a new, all-party government.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces will run Egypt during a transition period or until elections can take place, it said in a statement yesterday. The Muslim Brotherhood said Feb. 12 that it supported the army’s role in the peaceful transfer of power to a civilian government.
Under Mubarak’s rule, the Brotherhood was banned from politics in Egypt, and members have had to run for office as independents.
