Secular forces prepare to confront Islamists in elections

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Secular groups in Alexandria are rallying to confront predominant Islamist forces in the coastal city ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for September.

On Thursday, the Wafd Party will host all the secular parties and opposition groups in an effort to establish a coalition and develop strategies for contending with both the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis.

“We’ve agreed on some major points such as putting aside the ideological differences since we all agree on the secularism of the state, and on not handing the revolution to dogmatic forces. We are thinking of a plan not to have two candidates from the secular bloc in the same constituency so that they don’t compete with each other,” said Rashad Abdel-Al, a Wafd Party spokesman in Alexandria.

Secular forces prepare to confront Islamists in elections