 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 23 - 29 September 1999 Issue No. 448 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 23 - 29 September 1999 Issue No. 448
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
| ||
Ambitious for change
As President Mubarak prepares for a new term in office, a broad cross-section of society is hoping for political and legal reforms
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Comment Focus Special Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters More than 20 million voters will head to polling stations on Sunday to give Hosni Mubarak a resounding vote of confidence, ushering him into a fourth six-year presidential term. According to Interior Ministry figures, 23,937,196 citizens are eligible to vote at 40,907 polling stations, manned by about 38,000 municipal and school officials, that will open between 8am and 5pm.
Although the event is certainly political, it also promises to be a festive occasion. Millions of posters, placards and streamers have sprouted all over Cairo, as well as other cities and towns, pledging loyalty and support for Mubarak. Whole-page newspaper advertisements by businessmen and political activists, vow the same. The air force will join the celebration today, dropping thousands of cards, entitling their finders to prizes. Registered voters, heading for their hometowns to cast ballots, will be entitled to free train rides.
Mubarak, air force commander during the 1973 War and vice-president under Anwar El-Sadat, rose to power in 1981 following Sadat's assassination by Islamist militants. He has served as president for three six-year consecutive terms. Under the constitution, the president is nominated by parliament and the nomination has to be approved by the people in a nationwide referendum.
During a visit yesterday to Al-Shorouk, one of the capital's satellite cities, to inaugurate a housing project for young people, Mubarak affirmed anew his bias in favour of the under-privileged. After distributing thousands of housing contracts, Mubarak said the move underlined the state's social responsibility and "our determination to realise a balance between social classes, taking sides with those who need economic support and social protection."
Mubarak affirmed his belief that a government's legitimacy derives from "providing the basic services to citizens and looking after all sectors of society without discrimination."
Recalling his early years in office, Mubarak said the nation faced acute economic problems at the time. But a balance had to be struck between economic reform and the protection of low-income groups, he said. Reform required the private sector to take an active part in economic development "but there had to be clear guidelines that take the social dimension into account and reduce the burdens placed on low-income groups," he added.
Mubarak vowed that he would never allow the privatisation policy to have a negative impact on the have-nots "under any circumstances".
Moreover, globalisation is a reality that cannot be denied. "We are aware that globalisation has a negative impact on states and communities," he said. "Therefore, we have adopted a social policy that aims at protecting individuals and families and particularly the rights of low-income classes in a fast-changing world," Mubarak stated.
He said that "the coming period will be a phase of a major social change that will complement comprehensive economic reform -- a matter that requires a boost to social development."
Spokesmen for opposition parties, academics and ordinary citizens expressed confidence in Mubarak's bias in favour of the under-privileged, but they also expressed hope for political, constitutional and legal reforms.
Opposition parties hope that Mubarak will remove constraints imposed on political activity and repeal the emergency law in force since Sadat's assassination in 1981. Other demands include amending the socialist constitution to keep abreast with the switch to a free market economy, free and fair parliamentary elections and freedom to establish political parties.
Rifaat El-Said, secretary-general of the leftist Tagammu Party, believes that Mubarak's new term should "mark the end of all freedom-restricting laws, such as the press law, laws regulating the appointment of mayors and deans of university faculties and the emergency law." He also hopes that Mubarak's fourth term will witness free parliamentary elections.
Adel Hussein, secretary-general of the Islamist-oriented Labour Party, also called for the termination of the state of emergency, adding that "an end should be put to the harassment of opposition parties and the repeated rigging of parliamentary elections."
Diaeddin Dawoud said that the primary demand of his Nasserist Party is "the enactment of a new electoral law that guarantees that parliamentary elections are not rigged." He also said that "a new political parties law should also be enacted to ensure the free establishment of parties and their right to free financing and organising public rallies."
Abdel-Moneim Said, director of the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, added: "I believe the president should use his fourth term to lead the transition to a fully-fledged democracy. This will require a serious look at the constitution and laws that are still in force, given the fact that they were passed in the 1960s and '70s and, hence, are against democratisation."
(photo: Farouk Ibrahim)
also see: Egypt, Comment, Focus
