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Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 31 August - 6 September 2000 Issue No. 497
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Succession contest turns ugly
By Shaden Shehab
Following Fouad Serageddin's death on 9 August, Wafd Party members vowed to work for a smooth transition, declaring that unity would prevail until a new chairman is elected. But what is said is not necessarily what is done. A week before the elections, scheduled for tomorrow, Wafd Party members were embroiled in a war of words and "dirty games," as one member characterised them. In addition, two lawsuits were filed contesting the legality of the elections.
Gomaa
Prior to the 20 August deadline, six candidates had nominated themselves for the post of chairman. All of these, save for one, hail from the party's leadership. They are: No'man Gomaa, first deputy chairman; Fouad Badrawi, assistant secretary-general and grandson of Serageddin; Ibrahim El-Dessouki Abaza, assistant secretary-general; Mahmoud El-Sakka and Medhat Khafagi, both members of the party's Supreme Authority; and Abdel-Mohsen Hammouda, who is not a party member.
Revoking their bids, Abaza and El-Sakka withdrew their nominations a week later, reducing the number of candidates to four. In statements published by the party's mouthpiece Al-Wafd , they offered different reasons. Abaza said his withdrawal was intended to "protect the party's unity, show respect for the principles that the Wafd lives by and for, and to prevent any internal divisions from escalating." For his part, El-Sakka, a professor of law at Cairo University, stated that his withdrawal was due "to his pre-occupation with the coming parliamentary elections as well as Bar Association elections."
The two told Al-Ahram Weekly another story.
"It is like going to a movie that you expect to be good, but then leaving, disappointed, after watching the first part," Abaza said. "The atmosphere became ugly and the supporters of the various candidates fought each other continuously while plotting dirty games."
Moreover, Abaza said that "the election procedures are not in due order. The way dates were set, the list of voters prepared and the election committees established can easily be challenged." He argued that Gomaa, who is the interim chairman of the party, should have left these arrangements to others because to be both a candidate and responsible for election preparations represents a conflict of interests. "This is basic in any democratic elections," he said angrily. "All the procedures taken were intended to ensure that Gomaa wins."
According to party statutes, if the chairman's post becomes vacant, the senior deputy chairman takes over until the 1,000-member general assembly meets within 60 days to elect a successor.
El-Sakka shared similar sentiments. He said that he withdrew his nomination "because of a conspiracy and a political game." He explained that he had originally nominated himself because "many party members, along with the Serageddin and Badrawi families, encouraged me, promising that I would have their votes. Then I found the same people encouraging Fouad Badrawi to nominate himself."
Another reason, he said, was that "the list of voters was rigged in such a way as to make No'man Gomaa win. The names of a good number of people, who are not Wafd members but who are completely loyal to him, were added."
El-Sakka continued: "I decided to quietly withdraw and so as not to foster an image of the Wafd as riven by internal divisions. I could have gone to prosecutors or courts-of-law to prove the rigging, but I chose not to. My loyalty is for the party and I have no intention of distorting its image or causing any splits."
El-Sakka predicted that Gomaa will "most certainly win the elections because he knows how to play the game."
Abaza and El-Sakka were not the only ones to accuse Gomaa of foul play. Medhat Khafagi went as far as to file two lawsuits with the Administrative Court and another court that rules on urgent matters, charging that the elections committee had forged the list of voters.
Khafagi said that out of the 1,090 names on the list, 416 are not of party members, but "workers who are loyal to Gomaa. I notified the prosecutors and filed the lawsuits and I do not regret doing so."
Khafagi continued: "How can we say that we are a democratic party and not practice democracy? How can we accuse the government of rigging parliamentary elections in their favour if we are doing the same?"
"Gomaa has chosen members of the elections committee and the appeals committee, used the party newspaper to promote himself and simply manipulated everyone for his own benefit," Khafagi said.
Badrawi was more cautious. "There are unfortunate matters and, yes, Gomaa made mistakes. But everything will be under control." He added, "I reviewed the voters list on Monday with the head of the appeals committee and changes were made, maybe not for the best but for the better."
Hammouda could not be reached to give his version of the story. But, earlier this week, the elections committee, headed by Ali Salama, had struck off his name as a candidate "because he is not even a member of the party. He does not have the right to vote and he who does not have the right to vote does not have the right to run in the election." Following a complaint by Hammouda, Mohamed Ali Sheta, third deputy chairman and head of the appeals committee, rejected this decision, declaring that "there is no provision in the party's statutes that only party members can nominate themselves."
Gomaa could not be reached for comment. But in statements to the press, he denied the accusations and said that he is organising the elections in his capacity as interim chairman -- not with the aim of using his powers to his own advantage.
Ali Salama, one of the oldest party members, told the Weekly: "There is no way I will accept any form of rigging. I fear God. Anyone that suspects any irregularities should go ahead and notify the concerned authorities." He explained that the list of voters was prepared in 1996, when the last general assembly was convened, and was signed by the pasha [Fouad Serageddin] himself. "We only removed the names of the dead and the names of those who were expelled or who resigned," Salama said.
"We have nothing to gain from rigging; we are an impartial committee. We want the election process to go smoothly; along the right path. Gomaa is a man of integrity; he would not want to win that way," Salama affirmed.
"He [Gomaa] is the one who formed the elections committee because, according to the statutes of the party, he is chairman. He acted in this capacity. Had he not done that, who would? If one man does not take the necessary decisions in time, the party will be torn apart," Salama said.
Yesterday, the four candidates published their platforms in Al-Wafd, each having been given the same amount of space. A pre-condition was that what they publish should not defame the Wafd or insult any of the candidates.
Tomorrow's elections will take place under the supervision of five election committees headed by individuals none of whom are members of the Wafd. Those heading the committees are: Makram Mohamed Ahmed, Osama El-Ghazali Harb, Kamel Zoheiri, Ibrahim Darwish and Wahid Abdel-Meguid.
Related stories:
Stepping into the pasha's shoes 24 - 30 August 2000
No party poopers 17 - 23 August 2000
