Egypt Opposition Leaders Form Committee to Negotiate With State

Egyptian opposition leaders formed a committee to negotiate their demands with the Egyptian government, said Ayman Nour, a politician and member of the committee.

The group includes Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency, along with a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s main opposition group, Nour said in a telephone interview today.

Thousands of people are protesting in Tahrir Square in central Cairo, demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, in power since 1981. Opposition groups have also demanded the formation of a unity government and the removal of constitutional rules that make it difficult for independent candidates to run for president.

Nour was a distant second to Mubarak in Egypt’s first multi-candidate election in 2005.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alaa Shahine in Cairo at asalha@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Maedler at cmaedler@bloomberg.net