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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 12 - 18 October 2000 Issue No. 503 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 12 - 18 October 2000 Issue No. 503
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Elections Palestine International Economy Opinion Culture Books Interview Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Campaigning dot com
By Amina ElbendaryThe upcoming parliamentary elections have been hailed by many as the elections of the millennium. Forces across the political spectrum hope the process will usher in a new era in domestic politics, one of greater democracy and one that keeps up with the norms prescribed by international conventions. As such, it is only fitting that this new era also correspond with the technology craze overtaking the entire world. Currently made available to campaigners are the new age tools with which they can better reach the contemporary voter.
A computer company, Lotus Internet Services, has set up a special Web site for the campaign under www.entkhabat.com. The purported goal of the site is to provide candidates with an opportunity to promote their political programmes and agendas and, by extension, a chance for the voters themselves to know more about the nominees.
But how practical is it to campaign on the Internet in a country where illiteracy is 26 per cent for men and 44 per cent among women? Indeed, it may appear incongruous to campaign in cyberspace when the majority of the country's population lives under the poverty line and does not have access to the necessary facilities. It is also a reality that the country's professional middle classes have traditionally refrained from voting in the first place -- their apathy in sharp contrast to that of the masses who vote for candidates in line with their patron/client loyalties.
According to Samir Wahba, the Lotus Internet Services' sales manager, the company's aim in setting up the site was to "bridge the gap between educated voters and candidates and widen the scope of choice for voters." Many of the educated potential voters have access to the Internet either privately or through their work places. This constituency is more likely to want to know about the candidates and their programmes. Entkhabat.com would, therefore, provide them with the information they seek. This project has been started at the company's initiative without sponsorship from any authorities, asserts Wahba.
A photograph of President Hosni Mubarak heads the Home page of entkhabat.com on the right corner and a flying flag of Egypt on the left. The background is covered by the watermark "Arab Republic of Egypt." Interestingly enough, even though the Parties' page includes the names of 14 parties as well as a slot for independents, only three parties -- namely the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), the liberal Wafd and the leftist Tagammu -- have functioning links. Wahba explained that the company has contacted all political parties to encourage them to provide information and make it available on the site. Basic information on each party, which includes the party's programme, history and list of candidates contesting the elections according to constituencies, is made available online by entkhabat.com free of charge. So far, the only party whose link is functioning with such information is the Tagammu. Surprisingly, the link to the NDP does not include any information on the party. According to Wahba, NDP officials have not been interested in adding their information to the site. Indeed, he explained to Al-Ahram Weekly that it is taking a lot of persuasion to convince political activists of the benefits of using the Internet in campaigning. It requires changing many established beliefs about how electoral campaigns are run.
The site includes a link to a map of Egypt divided into the electoral constituencies, with links to each of those leading to a list of the candidates running for elections. However, so far these lists only include NDP and Tagammu candidates.
The disappointing aspect about the site is that it only includes the names of the candidates without any information about them. To a large extent, this defeats the purpose of entkhabat.com . The educated Internet users whom the site is purportedly targeting will definitely be looking for more information than simply a list of names. The lists do not include photographs of the candidates, biographical information on them, or their respective individual programmes. Wahba admits that this is a shortcoming and asserts that Lotus is trying to approach candidates who may wish to advertise their agenda and include photographs and extra information in return for a small charge.
Indeed it is the independent candidates who are most likely to be interested in such a service, lacking as they are in institutional support and guidance in campaigning. Wahba laments the fact that the concerned authorities refused to provide entkhabat.com with a comprehensive list of all independents running for parliament. This means that the web masters have had to seek and approach independent candidates on a one-to-one basis, an extremely difficult and daunting task.
Newspaper ads have helped in promoting the Web site and bringing it to the attention of candidates running for election. Similarly, the site is being advertised on the Internet through exchange banners with the leading local sites that Egyptians are most likely to visit.
So why are the Lotus people doing this? The margin of profit is very small, Wahba concedes. Rather, the company's aim is to promote the use of the Internet in public life, to integrate the Web in the domestic political arena. He points to the use of the Internet in conducting pre-election polls. The only Arab country to emulate this was Lebanon in its recent elections. The polls there were 90 per cent close to the final outcome. Yet for national security reasons entkhabat.com was unable to carry out election polls. It is their hope that by the next round of parliamentary elections, the Internet will have been further integrated into Egyptian society. Of course, in order for such an endeavour to succeed, it would require more than a spread of Internet facilities. It would entail a different political climate altogether. Perhaps this is precisely what the elections of the millennium will bring.
Related stories:
See Elections 2000, The 1995 Elections
Egyptian elections -- American style 2 - 8 March 2000
