CAIRO (Reuters) – An Egyptian court yesterday ordered the dissolution of former President Hosni Mubarak’s political party, meeting a demand of the pro-democracy movement whose protests ended his 30-year authoritarian rule.
The disbanding of the National Democratic Party (NDP) was likely to further appease protesters who had called off fresh demonstrations after the military council that now rules Egypt earlier this week ordered Mubarak detained for questioning about corruption allegations.
The NDP had dominated Egyptian politics since it was founded by Mubarak’s predecessor, Anwar Sadat, in 1978. For many in Egypt, it epitomised the graft and abuse of power that helped ignite the protests which forced Mubarak to quit in February. “It’s illogical for any instruments of the regime to remain, now that the regime itself has fallen,” the High Administrative Court said in a statement.
The court also ordered the liquidation of NDP assets, with the funds to be returned to the state because, the statement said, “this money is actually the money of the people”.
Mubarak was admitted to a hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday, suffering from an unspecified ailment, shortly after he was questioned. On Friday, prosecutors ordered him to be moved to a military hospital until he was well enough to be interrogated again. Security sources said this was likely to happen on Saturday.
Political analysts described the NDP’s dissolution as an important step towards a multi-party system in Egypt, which is to elect a new parliament and then a president later this year.
