Cairo: Accompanied by a group of comrades, young politician Mahmoud Badr, a co-founder of the grassroots group Tamarod (Rebellion) this week headed to the office of the committee in charge of licensing political parties in central Cairo. He officially applied for political party status for Tamarod, which played a major role in the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohammad Mursi.
“Tamrod Movement has succeeded today in its first mission, which is to turn into a legal political party,”, said Badr, a staunch backer of incumbent President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi.
Last year, Tamarod took Egypt’s turbulent political scene by storm, collecting massive endorsements demanding Mursi to resign to clear the way for an early presidential vote. When Mursi, a senior leader in the Muslim Brotherhood, refused to step down, Tamarod mobilized enormous street protests against his one-year rule, prompting his eventual overthrow by the army in July 2013.
Earlier this year, Tamarod suffered a setback after some of its leaders broke away and declared backing for the leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahy-- the sole rival to Al Sissi in the May presidential election.
Badr, 29, said this week that Tamarod’s decision to become a political party was in response to Al Sissi’s recent call on young Egyptians to actively engage in politics. “Tamarod has responded and all youth of Egypt should join political parties,” said Badr, an ex-member of the prominent protest group Kefaya (Enough).
Pro-democracy campaigners accuse Al Sissi’s government of crackding down on political dissidents. Hundreds of Islamist and secular opponents have been detained in recent months on charges ranging from involvement in violence to holding illegal protests.
Al Sissi’s backers defend the clampdown, saying it is necessary to re-establish security in the country.
Tamarod’s bid for a political party comes ahead of Egypt’s parliamentary elections, expected to be held early next year. The group has said it will align with like-minded political parties to run for the parliament.
To some analysts, Tamarod’s political ambitions are doomed. “Tamarod’s role in the political role after the June 30 revolution (when anti-Mursi protests started) has ended,” Wahid Abdul Majuid, an expert at the state-run Al Ahram Centre for Political Studies, said. “The movement has been hit by divisions and rifts. Its turn into a political party will mean nothing for the political life in Egypt.”
Fears mount in Egypt that in the absence of strong and well-organized political parties, the next parliament will be dominated by loyalists of former president Hosni Mubarak and Islamists.
“Tamarod was born in a certain historical time when Egyptian people got together to get rid of Mursi’s rule,” said Hassan Nafa’a, a political science professor.
“The movement should have disbanded itself after it played its role in removing the Muslim Brotherhood from power,” he told indepndent newspaper Al Youm Al Saba. Nafa’a accused the Tamarod leaders of lacking in popularity and pursuing “personal ambitions”.
Tamarod leaders, however, confirm that their party, expected to be officially declared later this month, will have a street clout.
“Our party is the outcome of a massive popular movemet that collected more than 22 million endorsements against the Brotherhood’s rule,” said Moustafa Al Siweisi, the group’s spokesman. “Tamarod was able to mobilise millions of people to take to the streets on June 30, 2013. We were also the first to call for Al Sissi to stand for presidency because this was an expression of the people’s feelings. So, our decision to form a party is based on our popularity and our strong links to the street.”
