April 6 Leader Ahmed Maher To Be Replaced

The April 6 Youth Movement is choosing a new head to replace co-founder and long-time leader Ahmed Maher.

Maher did not run in the group’s internal elections held on Sunday, choosing instead to remain in an advisory role. He is expected to join a council of elders that will be formed after the elections.

Elections results are due to be announced in two days.

Two of the movement’s founders, Amr Adly and Fady Al-Masry, are in the running to assume Maher’s role.

“Ahmed Maher will continue to be our founding symbol and a member of the movement’s political office. We cannot limit his role inside the movement,” spokesperson Mohammed Kamal told Al-Ahram’s Arabic website.

However, Maher “will no longer have logistical or administrative tasks,” Kamal clarified.

The April 6 Youth Movement was founded in 2008 to support protesting workers in the Nile Delta’s Mahalla. It soon developed into one of the leading opposition movements during the Mubarak era.

However, the group has lost much of its popularity due to the emergence of other opposition movements and a public spotlight on the group’s allies and funding sources.

Last month, Maher was investigated for allegations of conspiring against Egypt and acquiring illegal financial support from abroad.

Source : Ahram