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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 26 Oct. - 1 Nov. 2000 Issue No. 505 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 26 Oct. - 1 Nov. 2000 Issue No. 505
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Palestine International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Face off
By Awatef Abdel-Rahman *
Many of the old faces have disappeared, testifying to the positive influence that judicial supervision has had on the People's Assembly elections this year. This has had the direct benefit of encouraging more people to participate, restoring necessary confidence in the electoral process. Now that a pattern has been established, keeping it up will ensure more faith in and more respect for this important representative body in the future.
New faces -- now more or less in place -- mean, in some cases, independent nominees, testifying to the fact that the influence of the National Democratic Party is receding. Opposition parties are not as "in" as they might be, however. This means that they are not as politically active (beyond what is published in their newspapers) and requires, in turn, some revision of the laws governing the range and nature of their political activities.
Women's faces have their own implications: more nominees, fewer successes, but -- crucially -- significantly more participation by women in the electoral process. In similar measure, more attention should be paid to campaigns and actual agendas, lest women remain as excluded as they currently are. At least their faces are more present than they have ever been.
* This week's Soapbox speaker is professor of media studies at Cairo University.© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
