Egyptian Military Retirees to form political party

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Association of Egyptian Military Retirees will become a political party, association coordinator Samir Ragheb announced on Tuesday, December 25, according to RIA Novosti.

"The proposal to transform the association into a party came from a large group of former officers, who are set to unite former servicemen of the Egyptian armed forces and to take part in the country’s political life as a legal political organization,” Ragheb said.

The party, tentatively called Vanguard of Liberation, would focus on turning Egypt into a democratic state “where all Egyptians take part in political, economic and social decision-making.”

“The country has recently veered off the course established by the 2011 Egyptian revolution and taken another direction, which is creating a split in Egyptian society,” the coordinator said, adding that his party would seek a “more realistic policy.”

If registered, Vanguard of Liberation will become Egypt’s first-ever officially registered party of the military.

The Egyptian Armed Forces, the largest in Africa and the Arab world and the world’s tenth largest, remain a force to be reckoned with in Egyptian politics. The Armed Forces have traditionally enjoyed the public's support and respect.

Egyptian ex-president Hosni Mubarak resigned a day after the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) gathered for an emergency meeting on February 9. The council, comprising 21 senior military officers, governed Egypt after Mubarak’s departure and ruled the country until incumbent President Mohammed Morsi took office.