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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 March 2000 Issue No. 471 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 March 2000 Issue No. 471
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Interview Features Focus Heritage Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Egyptian elections -- American style
By Amira Howeidy
Sayed Elewa, a political science professor, is running a consultancy firm to "modernise" the "too primitive" election campaigns in this country. With eight months to go before the coming November parliamentary elections, Elewa is expecting candidates to seek his professional advice.
He had already given it a try in the last election of 1995 and argues that, despite claims of vote rigging, candidates can win by running successful campaigns. Elewa is doing this for money, of course, but he will not reveal his rates. "I'm offering my knowledge and advice to those who want it, basically because I want to upgrade the election campaign process. And this is also a national duty," he told Al-Ahram Weekly.
The service remains the first of its kind, which is why it faces many challenges. Marred by violence and lack of political awareness, the parliamentary elections -- the country's most important political event -- remain a disorderly, often crude, process unworthy of Egypt's 134 years of parliamentary experience, political analysts say. Elewa anticipates "more organised" campaigns which will focus largely "on the image" of the candidate.
His initiative coincides with a campaign launched by opposition parties and several rights groups for political and constitutional reform. "Our efforts run in the same direction of making the elections the event they ought to be, especially since President Hosni Mubarak has stressed that the coming poll will be a fair one," he argued.
So, instead of relying on the electoral signs allocated to candidates by the Interior Ministry, like camels, crescents, cars, eyeglasses, guns, buckets or swords, Elewa is suggesting that direct contact between the candidate and the constituency he is targeting should be the principal form of communication. "Candidates can address their audience directly in sporting clubs, youth centres, churches or mosques which are always crowded. They can mail their platforms directly to the home addresses of the constituency's inhabitants," Elewa explained.
The consultancy firm is making maximum use of the information available on the nation's 222 constituencies and is providing data-bases that include must-knows such as the number of eligible voters, breakdown of age groups, rate of unemployment, infrastructure. Elewa is also offering "hi-tech" campaigning methods such as putting up websites for the candidates, noting that this "depends on the socio-economic situation of the constituency, its size and its dominant social class."
He believes that contrary to widespread views, voters from all sectors of society, "even the illiterate," can accept "modern election tools" and will not always yield to "tribal" pressures. "The impact of television and globalisation is much stronger than we think," he says. And although the most effective tool, namely television, is state-owned and thus controlled, candidates can "buy air time in the satellite channels to promote themselves." Moreover, he argued, the government is becoming aware of the competition between the Arab satellite channels "and this can be a prelude to allowing candidates to appear on local television."
