A new political office for the 6 April Youth Movement (Democratic Front) was elected on Friday night.
The elections took place in two phases. The first was on Thursday in the governorates, while the second phase was in Cairo and Giza, where group members had to choose from 11 candidates to fill seven positions.
Those elected to office are Mohamed Youssef, Hamdy Qeshta, Heba Affify, AbdAllah Al-Sayed, Mohamed Fouly, Ahmed Hamdy, and Hossam Ghodeyah.
That the political office is responsible for setting the strategies of the group and for appointing the executive office, which is responsible for the different committees within the group, said Mohamed Youssef, spokesman for 6 April. The political office is monitored by the high board, which is composed of two elected candidates from each governorate.
The group’s first election was held in September 2011. After the second election in March 2013, the group decided to hold elections for its political office annually.
“The group is not in favour of announcing the numbers of voters, because we operate on a grass root level and we use several means to fight the oppressive regimes,” Youssef said. But, he said, regardless of the group’s membership, 6 April’s demonstrations have an “obvious impact”.
On Thursday, the group organised a small protest in Tahrir Square marking the passage of 40 days since the death of leader Sayed AbdAllah. Central Security Forces shot and killed AbdAllah, also known as Wezza, during a protest in front of the Press Syndicate on the third anniversary of the 25 January Revolution.
The 6 April Youth Movement was officially divided into two fronts in April 2011 because of conflicts over management.
The youth movement was one of the main groups calling for protests on 25 January 2011. The group’s name refers to the date of the first protest the group had called for.
