El-Katatni meets opposition leaders for dialogue

Freedom and Justice Party Chairman Saad El-Katatni met with opposition leaders Mohamed ElBaradei and El-Sayed El-Badawi on Saturday in one of the first instances of dialogue between the ruling party and the opposition.

El-Katatni, whose party is the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood to which President Mohamed Morsi belongs, “discussed the current political situation” with the opposition leaders.

“I have met today with [Al-Dostour Party Chairman] Mohamed ElBaradei and [Al-Wafd Party Chairman] El-Sayed El-Badawi to exchange points of view regarding the current political situation,” El-Katatni said in an FJP press release.

Salafi Al-Nour Party spokesperson Nader Bakar said the meeting was “the fruit of the Nour Party’s labours towards reconciliation”.

“We hope this meeting will contribute positively to the second round of national dialogue and hopefully make steps towards [the party’s] initiative,” Bakar tweeted.

Al-Nour proposed what it referred to as a “reconciliation initiative” last month. The initiative stipulates Morsi dismissing Prime Minister Hesham Qandil and his cabinet, forming instead a “national unity” cabinet of technocrat ministers and representatives of political parties.

The initiative also calls on Morsi to dismiss Prosecutor General Tala’at Abdallah and appoint one of three candidates to be nominated by the Supreme Council of the Judiciary.

The initiative also includes setting up a constitutional review committee tasked with suggesting amendments to controversial or disputed articles, which Morsi would propose to the lower House of Parliament upon its election.

The National Salvation Front (NSF), a large coalition of secular opposition parties, has been calling for these demands and agreed to Al-Nour’s initiative.

NSF leaders have been boycotting all national dialogue sessions with the president but said they would participate if he implemented this initiative.

El-Katatni denied that he discussed the initiative with ElBaradei and El-Badawi. “We did not discuss Al-Nour Party’s initiative at all,” he said.