CAIRO: Campaigns against the inheritance of Egypt’s presidency to Gamal Mubarak continue as a group of Internet activists are increasing opposition to his candidacy via a signature campaign on the blog “The National Initiative to reject the inheritance, the resignation of Gamal Mubarak, son of the 81-year-old Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak”

The group called on the younger Mubarak to submit his immediate resignation from all positions in the National Democratic Party(NDP) and to return to the ranks of people “like any ordinary citizen” and to “distance himself away from all activities of state government, which is practiced,” as argued in the group’s statement, without a popular mandate.

The group whose members have swelled to more than 8500, called on appointing a Vice-President for Mubarak Sr., according to the constitution, as well as asking President Mubarak to respond to the formation of a national assembly to draft a new constitution and the adoption of the independence of the judiciary.

The group also called for the abolition of the emergency law and the political parties committee and demanded the release of all political detainees.

The activists expressed their rejection of hereditary succession to Mubarak’s presidency, noting that the reason for their refusal to Gamal Mubarak, is that if “Gamal reaches the hierarchy of power, this would be contradicting the principle of equal opportunities among the people of the same country.”

The Internet group also argued that Gamal lacks qualifications for such a “vital and important position.”

On the other hand, Mohammed Haiba, Secretary of the Youth Department of the NDP, considered that the initiative “only represents a group of a few who are trying to destabilize Egypt and its security and the group is playing a game to change the minds of youth through trying to convince them that the inheritance of power is coming [and] in turn affects the confidence in the state and its ruler.”

Haiba said that Gamal is an Egyptian citizen who has the right to engage in political activities and has all the rights and duties that provide him access to any political party. He affirmed that Egypt will not see “the inheritance of presidency” until doomsday – meaning the end of Mubarak Sr.’s rule – and that the amendment of Article 76 establishes the right of every citizen to elect the right President, describing the founders of the online initiative as “unaware of the Constitution and the law.”

He added that Gamal Mubarak has made political breakthroughs since the beginning of his work at the NDP, setting a revolution of change and reform within the corridors of the Party, “not to mention the laws that recently developed, which emerged from the policies secretariat.”

Haiba questioned that “if this man was doing his job voluntarily and without pay, why should we judge him to death just because he is the son of the president?”

**reporting by Mohamed Abdel Salam

BM

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