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Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 June 2000 Issue No. 484 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 June 2000 Issue No. 484
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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 Constituencies reshaped
By Gamal Essam El-DinWith less than two weeks before its term expires, the Shura Council approved last Saturday two government-sponsored draft laws that adjust the shape of 51 electoral constituencies. One law will revamp 37 People's Assembly constituencies and the other will alter 14 Shura Council constituencies. On Sunday, the bills met with the approval of the Legislative and Constitutional Committee of the People's Assembly and next Monday the bills will be debated in a plenary session of the assembly.
In the Shura Council debate, Mohamed Farid Zakaria, an appointed council member, said he is suspicious of the two bills because they were submitted so close to the end of session. His trepidation is due to a long-standing government practice of slipping in important legislation just prior to the conclusion of sessions in order to limit debate. Addressing the Shura Council, Kamal El-Shazli, minister of state for parliamentary affairs, downplayed the impact of the legislation. He explained that the two bills are simply aimed at updating existing administrative structures. El-Shazli stated, "They are certainly not aimed at establishing new constituencies or cutting down the size of a certain constituency in favour of another."
First Assistant to the Interior Minister Ahmed Said El-Sawwan said that due to population growth, several ministerial decrees were issued during the past five years changing the status of some urban centres from "villages" to "towns." Also due to demographic change, new police stations have had to be established in various parts of the country. "As a result," he explained, "the designations and administrative structures of some electoral constituencies have to be modified to reflect these changes." El-Sawwan reaffirmed the government position that the reforms are in no way tailored to serve political interests. In fact, the constituency changes are designed to ensure the democratic integrity of the next parliamentary elections.
As an example of the necessity of updating constituency organisation, El-Sawwan cited the establishment of a second police station in Nasr City in 1996. He pointed out, "From a legal perspective, the addition should be described as a new component of the Nasr City electoral constituency. This does not mean that the Nasr City constituency is being expanded to include new voters. The constituency will remain as it is, but it should be stated in the legislative amendment that the Nasr City constituency includes a second police station." El-Sawwan also said that the legislative amendments are linked to commercial, industrial and agricultural development plans. Foremost among these new projects are the free trade area east of Port Said and the agricultural land reclamation in Nubariya, south-west of Alexandria.
The most important changes will affect Nasr City and Bassatin districts in Cairo, Al-Deikheila district in Alexandria, three districts in Port Said, and six districts in the Nile Delta governorate of Daqahliya. The law will also formalise the inclusion of 10th of Ramadan within the Belbeiss district. However, prominent businessman Louis Bishara demanded that a new electoral constituency be established specifically for the satellite industrial cities east of Cairo. He argued that the new constituency should incorporate 10th of Ramadan, Al-Obour, Al-Sherouq and Badr. "The state has invested a lot of money in these communities and they are attracting droves of inhabitants all the time," said Bishara. Minister El-Shazli responded that listed eligible voters in the four communities number only between 1,300 and 1,500. "This is a small number of voters and does not warrant the establishment of a new electoral constituency," he said.
In another announcement, El-Shazli said that the forthcoming parliamentary elections will be held ahead of Ramadan, which begins in the first week of December. He declined to provide a specific date, although the elections are generally expected to take place at the beginning of November.
