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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 May 2000 Issue No. 482 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 May 2000 Issue No. 482
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Features Heritage Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters New strategy for new faces
By Gamal Essam El-DinThe ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) is making early and serious preparations for the upcoming parliamentary elections. As the November poll approaches, the party plans greater efforts to ensure that urban and provincial members have open channels of communication and that the party platform is well understood by the public. In his Labour Day address, President Hosni Mubarak, the NDP chairman, declared that he had given instructions to leading NDP figures to start early preparations. He stated, "It is important to explain the party's platform and give a push to political action. I hope the other political parties will follow in the NDP's footsteps in order to serve the national interests."
Following the president's directive, the NDP general secretariat decided that all party members should be given the opportunity to nominate themselves. Prospective candidates will then be scrutinised by the party leadership. Final approval remains the prerogative of the party chairman, President Mubarak.
At the NDP secretariat meeting, it was also decided that the party campaign preparations will be overseen by 26 working groups. The Cairo group will include Information Minister Safwat El-Sherif, Chief of the Presidential Staff Zakaria Azmi, and Gamal Mubarak, a leading member of the NDP and the Egyptian spokesman for the US-Egypt Presidents' Council. Kamal El-Shazli, minister of state for parliamentary affairs, will be part of the Menoufiya group. Gamal Mubarak will also participate in the Menoufiya group. In Fayyoum, the working group will be headed by Agriculture Minister Youssef Wali. Economy Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali will be responsible for the Beni-Suef Group.
According to Gamal Mubarak, the working groups will be responsible for elucidating to the voters the achievements of the ruling party. "The performance of the party's urban and provincial cadres in solving the problems of citizens will also be evaluated," said Gamal Mubarak. NDP Secretary-General Wali explained that the party's electoral platform is based on the slogan, "Development, democracy and stability."
During the same meeting, the NDP secretariat decided that members of the Shura Council -- a consultative house without legislative powers -- would be banned from contesting parliamentary elections. If an NDP member of the Shura Council wishes to run, the member would need to relinquish his seat on the Council. In the last parliamentary elections, held in 1995, some NDP members of the Shura Council opted to nominate themselves as candidates for parliament. This created a conflict with those on the official list of NDP candidates. "We do not want to start another battle between NDP members of the Shura Council and the People's Assembly," said an NDP member who requested anonymity.
The NDP measures are likely to be motivated also by damage control considerations. Two weeks ago, the NDP suffered two serious blows. Yehia Shaalan, the NDP deputy for Luxor, was forced to resign from the People's Assembly after the Assembly's Ethics Committee found him guilty of a breach of trust. Shaalan abused an old parliamentary privilege under which every MP is granted eight entry visas per year to Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj (pilgrimage). These are to be distributed among constituents. Shaalan, however, illegally sold his quota for LE 32,000.
Then, later in the week, Fayez El-Tinikhi, NDP deputy for Beheira governorate, was investigated by parliament's Legislative Committee for allegedly issuing three worthless cheques worth LE 925,000 to the Faisal Islamic Bank. The committee decided to strip his parliamentary immunity. The investigation is continuing.
As a result of these scandals, the NDP has come under sharp criticism. Opposition parties claimed that the Shaalan case provided fresh evidence that many NDP deputies were "mercenary", interested only in taking advantage of parliamentary membership for the purpose of making illegal profits. Several writers for national and opposition newspapers criticised the Assembly's decision merely to accept Shaalan's resignation. They argued that the Assembly, instead, should have stripped him of his parliamentary membership. This measure would have denied Shaalan the opportunity of contesting the next election. Last week, Shaalan surprised political observers by deciding to run for election as an independent. Shaalan countered criticism, not by denying the accusations against him, but simply stated that he was not the only MP to make profits from selling hajj visas.
In an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, Ahmed Abu Zeid, leader of the NDP parliamentary group, insisted that the Shaalan case should not be used to undermine the party's image. "It proves that our party does not hesitate to purge corrupt deputies from its ranks. We reacted by dismissing Shaalan from the party and this is enough to deter other deputies from taking the same course," he said.
In another development, a large number of NDP deputies expressed fear that businessmen would get the lion's share of candidacy nominations. Abu Zeid explained to the Weekly that some NDP deputies are worried that the next elections may prove similar to those of the pre-1952 monarchical era. Abu Zeid noted, "At the time, the Pashas used to buy parliamentary seats with their money. We do not want this to happen again. We are against businessmen who are ready to squander millions of pounds in order to win a parliamentary seat and immunity. This would be a setback for democracy." In connection with this concern, leading members of the NDP have promised that the list of NDP candidates will include new faces, many of them women, young people and Copts.
