(AFP Photo)
Egyptian authority is constantly losing support and popularity, said Hamdeen Sabahy on Friday.
The leader of the Al-Tayar Al-Shaaby met with Tunisian president Moncef Marzouki in Tunis as part of a trip to attend the World Social Forum, which ran from 26 to 30 March.
Sabahy pointed to results in student union elections at Egyptian universities and elections in various syndicate including press, pharmacists, and veterinary medicine, according to state-owned Al-Ahram.
The opposition leader praised the political process in Tunisia, saying that the Al-Tayar Al-Shaaby looks to Tunisians to provide a model for democratic transformation. He praised the diversity exhibited by Tunisia’s government, something Sabahy claimed Cairo’s government lacked, blaming the Muslim Brotherhood for failing to engage other political actors in serious dialogue following elections.
Sabahy, who came in third place in the first round of last year’s presidential elections, said both Egypt and Tunisia are experiencing unfinished revolutions, stressing the importance of a democratic transition to bring the state closer to Egyptian society.
The prominent National Salvation Front (NSF) figure said that the Egyptian opposition did not reject reconciliation, but insisted on engaging in only serious dialogue based on genuine partnership across the country’s political spectrum, and claimed the president had not facilitated this type of dialogue.
Marzouki said that Egypt’s internal politics were important and had a strong effect on Tunisia. He added that he hoped the current political rift in Cairo could come to a conclusion, putting an end to ongoing polarisation.
Sabahy met with a number of high-level Tunisian officials during his trip including the secretary general of the Union of Tunisian Labour Hussein Al-Abassy.
The Al-Tayar Al-Shaaby leader praised Al-Abassy and Tunisian unions for embracing their revolution and continuing to work for labour rights in post-revolution Tunisia.
