Egypt's Wasat party withdraws from pro-Morsi bloc

Egypt's Al-Wasat Party has withdrawn from the National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, ousted president Mohamed Morsi's main support bloc.

"The priorities of the current phase in resisting despotism require working outside the framework of the Alliance by establishing an umbrella [group] that welcomes political forces across the spectrum without exclusion," the party said in a statement issued Thursday.

"Popular revolutionary movement has transcended all fronts and alliances," it added.

The Alliance, which consists of several opposition parties, was established in the wake of last year's ouster of Morsi – a Muslim Brotherhood leader who in 2012 won Egypt's first free presidential poll.

Since Morsi's ouster, Egypt's military-backed government has waged a relentless crackdown on political dissent – largely targeting Morsi supporters – which has seen hundreds killed and tens of thousands detained.

Wasat Party leader Abu al-Ela Madi and his deputy, Essam Sultan, are among the many prominent politicians to have been arrested on incitement-to-violence charges since Morsi's ouster.

Mohamed Abdel-Latif, the party's acting head, told Anadolu Agency earlier Thursday that the move was not related to any decision to contest upcoming parliamentary polls, expected sometime later this year.

The polls will be the final step of a transitional roadmap unveiled by the army following Morsi's ouster. The roadmap also included a constitutional referendum and presidential elections, both of which were held earlier this year.

Founded in 1996 by former members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood group, the Wasat Party was not permitted to operate until after Egypt's 2011 uprising that led to the ouster of autocratic president Hosni Mubarak.