The lists of shadow parliament members and their objectives were announced yesterday in a press conference at the Wafd Party headquarters.

After losing the recent People's Assembly elections, a group of former MPs formed a shadow, or a parallel, parliament. It consists of 102 members, of whom 50 are former Assembly members, 43 are public figures, and nine are political activists and members of civil society.

“The shadow parliament is essential to face the Egyptian parliament, which is currently without any controls,” Amin Iskander, a leading member of the unlicensed Karama Party told Ahram Online. Moreover, he assure, this initiative would bring forth a movement of change in Egypt.

The list contains influential opposition figures, including leader of the Ghad Party Ayman Nour, Chairman of the Democratic Front Party Osama Ghazali Harb, former Muslim Brotherhood MP Mohamed El-Beltagi, George Ishak of the Kifaya movement, and former Wafdist MP Mustafa Sherdy.

The shadow government members also plan to act as watchdogs on the Egyptian parliament and provide suggestions and solutions. “The shadow government would pressure the Egyptian government by issuing laws that mirror the Egyptians’ will,” Ayman Nour told Ahram Online.