Following the resignation of the leader of the Free Egyptians Party earlier on Friday, a number of other leading members have also stepped down, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported.

Deputy head Ibrahim Naguib, member of the political office Amr Soliman, and leading member Rawi Camel-Toueg, who all worked closely with former leader Ahmed Saeed, told Al-Ahram that they have also resigned from their positions.

The party had released a statement earlier on Friday saying that Saeed resigned for unspecified personal and professional reasons.

Naguib told Al-Ahram that "a lack of transparency from party general-secretary and head of elections committee Essam Khalil" led to his and his colleagues' resignations. He said internal disputes emerged as a result between the political office and the elections committee.

He added, however, that the resignations were not coordinated collectively, asserting that they are still members of the party but have stepped down from their positions.

A member of the political office, Mahmoud El-Alaily, told Al-Ahram that Saeed's resignation was due to personal issues, but he acknowledged the internal problems the party is facing. He said other members' resignation at the same time was a coincidence.

Al-Ahram tried to reach Khalil for comment, but he was not available.   

The liberal party, which was founded after the 2011 uprising by Egyptian business tycoon Naguib Sawiris, is scheduled to run for Egypt's upcoming parliamentary elections, slated to take place before the end of the year.