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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 March 2000 Issue No. 472 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 March 2000 Issue No. 472
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Books Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Respectable reform
By Salama Ahmed Salama
Instead of consuming their energy in petty squabbles and irrelevant matters, members of the majority party in the People's Assembly should be focusing on real problems. The ruling party and other political forces should think of how to guarantee that the November elections to the legislative assembly will be free, fair and truly representative.
President Mubarak has pledged to safeguard the elections himself but, unless the necessary conditions are fulfilled, good intentions will be for nought, and the same old faces will remain in place.
The requirements of fairness relate to procedures and regulations that are susceptible to reform. The implementation of the election process as a whole can also be placed under the judiciary's jurisdiction. The core of the problem, however, resides in the question of representation.
Only when Copts, women, political parties and independent candidates are represented equitably can we even claim to have a modern, effective parliament rather than a rubber stamp brought to power by a completely incredible majority vote reminiscent of the inflated grades earned by secondary school certificate students.
Suggestions for attaining more equitable representation of Copts and women, however, have been undemocratic in spirit and letter, been blocked by obsolete provisions of the Constitution, or required the modification of the electoral law and the exercise of political rights. Certain proposals call for affirmative action measures, in the form of a quota for Copts and women. Others suggest that parties agree among themselves for the "reservation" of certain constituencies to Coptic candidates or women. Others have suggested that the vote be fixed in favour of Copts and women in certain constituencies.
Such ideas reflect a total ignorance of democracy (as evidenced by the readiness to sanction outside interference in the voters' choice). More worrying is the fact that these suggestions would create a religious rift within the population and justify claims of discrimination on the basis of religious belief. If such tricks are perceived as solutions, perhaps we should be satisfied with appointing representatives of underprivileged groups, and thus sparing ourselves this charade of democratic practice.
I cannot understand why we should seek the fair representation of Copts and women just because certain Western sources have made comments in this regard, instead of trying to reform because we genuinely desire more equitable representation of the entire population.
Nor do I understand why we do not abandon the individual ticket system, which is fraught with defects. We have other means of correcting the errors that have excluded Copts and women from political life -- legal means, not tricks that make a mockery of democracy. By reinstituting the electoral list, we can guarantee that elections are fair, free and credible. Copts, women and other underrepresented groups would be equitably represented according to their weight in society. By applying the electoral list system, the strange article in the constitution regarding the representation of farmers and workers would be honoured, in the event that the Constitution itself is not open to modification.
Passing a sound electoral law on the list basis would guarantee the just exercise of political rights, without discrimination on the basis of sex or religion. It is also the shortest path to a parliament truly representative of all the actors on the political scene. Such reform would pave the way for true democratic practice. It would earn us the respect of other nations but, more importantly, it would allow us a measure of self-respect as well.
