Al-Ahram Weekly 16 - 22 March 2000 Issue No. 473
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

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Gearing up for the campaign

By Shaden Shehab

Cries by opposition parties of governmental foul play have long played a part in parliamentary elections -- before, during and after -- and the past few months have been no exception. Opposition parties are demanding guarantees ensuring the integrity of the upcoming November ballot as a "precondition" for their participation. Among the demands: revising the balloting system, as well as lists of voters, and full judicial supervision over the poll.

Under the current electoral system, judges only supervise elections at the main polling stations; auxiliary stations are usually monitored by municipal officials. On 20 March the cabinet will discuss a new draft law on judicial supervision of all polling stations -- a clear indication that the government is seriously considering ways of addressing the need for uniform supervision during the forthcoming elections.

The government's move came after President Hosni Mubarak promised in a speech to a joint session of the People's Assembly and Shura Council that "clean parliamentary elections will be held under full judicial supervision."

But opposition party representatives who spoke with Al-Ahram Weekly about plans to contest the coming elections made it clear that as-yet-unfulfilled demands for governmental guarantees regarding a fair race remain a key issue.

The Wafd Party announced its intention to take part in the elections at a meeting of its supreme council last Thursday. Fouad Serageddin, the party chairman, spoke of "a trend to boycott the elections, especially after the prolongation of the emergency law for three more years."

The Wafd Party, however, "decided to take part in the coming elections, so as not to forfeit grassroot support. Party followers insist on our participation, no matter what the sacrifices are." Serageddin added that participation was important "because political action means mingling with the people and giving expression to their demands and problems."

Serageddin said his party will participate "despite the government's failure so far to provide the guarantees demanded by the Wafd, especially the revision of the lists of voters and the amendment of the law on the exercise of political rights."

Yassin Serageddin, the Wafd party spokesman and a member of parliament, told the Weekly that during the supreme council meeting 20 members voted in favour of contesting the elections and 15 were opposed.

"Parliamentary elections are the only proof that a political party has an actual existence," he said, adding that the number of candidates has not been decided.

Khaled Mohieddin, chairman of the leftist Tagammu Party, said, "We are definitely participating in the coming elections; we never boycotted any of the previous ones." He explained that the party "will continue to demand the change of laws governing the election process and regulations to ensure the integrity of the elections," but that doing so does not rule out participation in the elections.

Dawoud

Shoukri

Mohieddin

Serageddin

El-Hodeibi

Ibrahim Shukri, chairman of the Islamist-oriented Labour Party, said that although the final decision will be made by the party's supreme council, there is a serious intention to participate in the coming elections.

"The government has to fulfill its promise regarding judicial supervision," Shukri said. "In order to do so, it has to cancel court hearings on election days," he argued, suggesting that judges would need the time to supervise the ballot.

On whether there will be a coalition with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Shukri did not commit himself, but sounded willing to accommodate. "What is a coalition? If communists or members of the Brotherhood want to participate, we will welcome them; we are open to everybody," he said.

On the other hand, Maamoun El-Hodeibi, spokesman of the Brotherhood, said that the outlawed organisation has not taken a decision on contesting the election yet. "We are awaiting the decisions that will be made by Prime Minister Atef Ebeid," El-Hodeibi said.

In the 1984 elections, the Brotherhood ran in alliance with the Wafd party. The 1987 elections were contested by the Brotherhood in cooperation with the Labour and Liberal parties. The Brotherhood boycotted the 1990 elections. In the last elections of 1995, they ran in alliance with the Labour party and as independents.

Diaeddin Dawoud, chairman of the Nasserist party, said his group has "tentatively" decided to take part in the coming parliamentary elections. "The final decision will depend on the guarantees given by the government on matters such as judicial supervision and modification of the balloting system," Dawoud said.

Fouad Reda Rushdie, a political adviser at the Liberal Party, said that the party "will definitely take part in the coming elections." He added that there will be 22 candidates running in different constituencies.

Since the party's chairman, Mustafa Kamel Murad, died in 1998, a power struggle has been raging to fill the vacant post. Two rival camps, led by Talaat El-Sadat and Ragab Hilal Hemeida, are vying for succession.

"We will settle the dispute before May, so we can participate in the elections with a chairman in the chairman's post," said Rushdie.

In the 1984 elections, the Wafd, in alliance with the outlawed Brotherhood, was the only opposition party that managed to gain representation, winning 57 seats -- a 12.72 per cent share. In the 1987 elections, the Labour-Muslim Brotherhood alliance won 60 seats, and the Wafd 35 seats. With the exception of Tagammu, the major political parties boycotted the 1990 elections.

In the 1995 elections, only 15 seats (about 3 per cent) went to opposition parties and the Brotherhood. Six seats went to the Wafd, five to Tagammu and two to the Nasserists. The Liberals won one seat, as did the Brotherhood.

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