National Salvation Front (NSF) member Waheed Abdel Meguid said that the front is ready for dialogue with the presidency.
“We assured the mediation committee (formed by the presidency) that we are ready for dialogue with the the presidency immediately to set rules and agenda for it. We submitted names of (our) representatives and informed the mediators as well as (outgoing Vice President) Mekki. He said he would respond to the request, however, we have received no response so far,” Abdel Meguid told the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper on Monday.
Abdel Meguid added that the NSF had assured Vice President Mekki that it is ready for discussions to decide on the basics of the dialogue, including who will represent the oppositon and the presidency and how results from the dialogue will be implemented. He said that these details should be noted in a document reviewed by the public, but did not elaborate.
It remains unclear if Abdel Meguid's stance is reflective of the entire NSF. On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the front told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the fron twould not take part in any dialogue with President Mohamed Morsy unelss he formally pleges to amend the disputed articles of the Constitution. Abdel Meguid did not mention any such conditions in his remarks Monday.
Meanwhile, national dialogue sessions which resumed Saturday are underway between the presidency and a small number of mainly Islamist opposition forces. Most of the opposition groups, including the National Salvation Front and other secular forces, have refused to participate.
Presidency spokesperson Yasser Ali posted on his official Facebook page the attendees agreed to discuss proposed amendments to the laws related to the upcoming parliamentary elections mandated by the new Constitution.
In his latest national address on Saturday, Morsy made new calls for the opposition to join in a national dialogue.
