The deputy head of the Freedom and Justice Party, Dr. Essam El Erian, has said that the party does not seek a majority in the Egyptian parliament. Instead, he said, his members hope to form "a wide-ranging electoral coalition" to govern Egypt. Such a grouping will, he hopes, include parties from the left and right, liberals and Islamists.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which founded the Freedom and Justice Party, had intimated that it is planning to stand for 50% of the parliament's seats. There have been reports on an agreement with the Wafd Party and some of the revolutionary forces about participating in the elections on one list. Dr. El Erian called on Egypt's political groups and parties to "unite and agree on the commonalities and to dismiss any disagreements between one another".

In the Freedom and Justice Party's first public conference, held in the village of Bahteem in northern Egypt, Dr. El Erian said: "The coming phase requires that we agree and collaborate, with the support of the people, for building this country. There is no need to fight over a pie that has not been cooked yet." He stressed that the revolution "succeeded only in toppling the regime, but its corrupt roots are still solid in the country's institutions; this needs political solidarity to cleanse [the country of corruption]."

Praising the government for creating dialogue over Egypt's budget and discussion over the People's Assembly Law, Dr. El Erian noted that "the General Budget should have been introduced for public dialogue before it was approved." This, he added, should be the case with all new laws.