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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 June 2000 Issue No. 487 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 June 2000 Issue No. 487
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Focus Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Scramble over the NDP ticket
By Gamal Essam El-DinNo sooner had the general secretariat of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) begun preparations for the next People's Assembly elections, scheduled for November, than it was deluged with hundreds of nomination requests.
The most surprising of these requests came from some 105 members of the Shura Council -- a consultative body without legislative powers -- who requested to stand for assembly elections as NDP candidates. Analysts pointed out that this large number, which accounts for almost one third of the Shura Council's members, submitted their applications despite a ban on their participation made by the NDP secretariat two weeks ago.
In the last parliamentary elections, held in 1995, only six Shura Council members from the NDP sought to run for office. When their nomination requests were rejected by the NDP, they ran as independents. Of these, five won seats in the assembly and were subsequently allowed to rejoin NDP ranks. Thy are: Mahmoud Abul-Nasr, chairman of the Planning and Budgetary Committee; Hamdi Qandil, deputy chairman of the Legislative and Constitutional Committee; Fathi Ne'matalla, deputy chairman of the Industry Committee; and MPs Mohamed Shawki El-Naggar and Saad Shalabi.
This year's bid by such a large number of NDP Shura Council members sent shock waves through political circles. Some NDP members were startled by the move, following as it did a recent ruling on a law by the Supreme Constitutional Court which some analysts say has indirectly affirmed a greater role for the Shura Council.
In striking down the new non-governmental organisations (NGOs) law (Law 153 of the year 2000), the Supreme Constitutional Court based its decision on the fact that the law was not ratified by the Shura Council, as it should have been because it is a law with a direct bearing on constitutionally guaranteed rights. "This verdict represents a major turning point for the Shura Council because, from now on, it will have to debate a larger number of bills before they are sent to the People's Assembly. The bills which touch on constitutional rights are numerous and this is the reason the Shura Council will play a larger role in domestic politics and legislative activities," prominent lawyer and Shura member Shawki El-Sayed told Al-Ahram Weekly. El-Sayed expressed disappointment that a large number of Shura members should seek to stand for election to the People's Assembly at this historic moment in the council's history.
It is no secret, however, that many Shura members look upon the council as a mere democratic ornament. An NDP member of the Shura, who asked not to be identified, surprised the Weekly by arguing that, contrary to what many believe, the ruling of the Supreme Constitutional Court on the NGO law will not strengthen the Shura Council's legislative and supervisory powers. "Suppose that the NGO law was first ratified by the Shura Council, this would not have made much difference because the Council has no option but to say 'yes' -- in a very short period of time and following a very brief debate -- to all government-sponsored bills," he said.
According to this same Shura Council member, the council was established by the late President Anwar El-Sadat in 1980 merely to replace the role of the defunct Arab Socialist Union in supervising state-owned press organisations. "Alongside this primary task, the council was allowed to assume some parliamentary functions, but these never made the council a legislative body like the American Senate," he said.
Opposing this view, the council's chairman Mustafa Kamal Helmi insisted that the Shura Council is a major player in domestic politics. "In the last session, Shura members, in debating some bills, such as the personal status bill, proved to be very insightful and critical," Helmi said. He expressed the hope that Egypt will adopt the bicameral system like 82 other countries.
A recent report showed that the number of government-sponsored bills debated by the council rose from three in 1998/99 to seven in 1999/2000. In total, 19 bills were debated by the council during the last five years.
Some opposition figures believe the NDP's decision to ban its Shura members from running in the elections, thus forcing them to run as independents, is merely a tactic to reduce the opposition's chances of success.
During the last week 1,365 NDP members submitted requests to their party secretariat to stand for election. Some observers predict that the number of people requesting to stand for election as NDP candidates may reach 5,000 by the time the period for nominations closes at the end of September. Only 444 parliamentary seats are up for grabs.
In the 1995 parliamentary elections, some 3,800 NDP members sought to run as candidates for their party. Of this number, the party chose 444 to stand for election in the nation's 222 constituencies. Some of those who were not selected ran as independents. Of this group 126 won seats and later rejoined NDP ranks to raise by one third the ruling party's majority in parliament.
The NDP has said that among those seeking to run on its ticket are approximately 500 young people and around 20 women. Among the well-known figures who have requested to run as NDP candidates are Hamdi El-Kunayessi, chairman of Egyptian Radio; Mohamed Ibrahim Suleiman, minister of housing; and Moufid Shehab, minister of higher education.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Kamal El-Shazli, has said that the names of NDP candidates will be announced during the first half of October.
