20110312
xinhua

CAIRO, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Secretary General of Egypt's National Democratic Party (NDP) Mohammed Ragab on Saturday sacked 21 senior members, including a number of former ministers, and accepted the resignation of four others, according to state news agency MENA.



The decision came as the NDP's initiative to purify the party from corrupt elements which spoiled partisan and political life in Egypt, said Ragab in a statement.

Ragab also called for an emergency party conference to elect a new chairman for the party in succession to the toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

Among the fired list are a number of ministers in Mubarak's government, who were regarded as serving polices of Gamal Mubarak, son of Hosni Mubarak and former head of NDP's policies committee.

Businessman and former NDP organization secretary Ahmed Ezz, former interior minister Habib el-Adly, former minister Rashid Mohammed Rashid of industry and trade, Ahmad al-Maghraqbi of housing and Zuheir Garana of tourism are among the sacked, together with other former ministers of agriculture, finance, petroleum, transport and information.

Ragab said the party accepted the resignations of Gamal Mubarak, former secretary general Mohamed Safwat el-Sherif, former minister of state for parliamentary and legal affairs Mufeed Shehab and former information secretary Alieddin Hilal. The bureau of the NDP resigned on Thursday, which presented a letter of resignation to Ragab to give him a chance to choose other members in the coming period.

They emphasized the importance of radical change in the mechanism and views of the party to cope with the recent developments after the demonstrations.

This step came amid continuing demands from the protesters to dismantle the party which ruled the country since 1978 till the resignation of Mubarak on Feb.11.

The NDP won over 90 percent of the seats of People's Assembly in the previous parliament elections in November 2010, a rare majority in any country's legislative body, but was widely accused by oppositions of fraud and voting manipulating.