Egyptian Al-Nour Party Hopes to Gain Influence in Parliament After Election

The chairman of the Egyptian Salafist Al-Nour Party Younes Makhioun said that the party, the only religious party registered to stand in the parliamentary elections in Egypt, plans to win as many votes as possible to have an influential role in country’s political life.

CAIRO (Sputnik) — The Salafist Al-Nour Party hopes to become influential in Egypt’s parliament after the forthcoming elections, the party’s chairman Younes Makhioun said Friday.

Al-Nour is the only religious party registered to stand in the parliamentary elections in Egypt. Voting to elect members of the House of Representatives, the country’s parliament, is planned to be held in two stages, on October 18-19 and on November 22-23, respectively.

“We are planning to win as many votes as possible to have an influential role in [country’s] political life,” Makhioun told RIA Novosti.

However, he expressed doubts that supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement that played a significant role in the country’s politics before being outlawed in 2013, would vote for Al-Nour.

Al-Nour used to be in coalition with the Freedom and Justice Party, the political branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. However, the alliance was broken when Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, became president in 2012. Al-Nour later backed deposing the Morsi government.

Salafists are Sunni fundamentalists who oppose religious innovations, favoring orthodox Islam as it was in the times of the Prophet Muhammad.