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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 9 -15 November 2000 Issue No.507 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 9 -15 November 2000 Issue No.507
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Books Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Big families left, right and centre
By Rehab SaadThe town of Kafr Shukr in the Nile Delta governorate of Qalyubiya is the stronghold of Khaled Mohieddin, leader of the leftist Tagammu party. Mohieddin, who emerged as victor in the 1990 and 1995 elections, is running for the professionals' seat. It is his home town, and most of its inhabitants are his supporters. His pictures and posters, describing him as "the hero of the 23 July revolution," are hanging from all walls.
The battle may appear already to have been won, but this, in fact, is not the case. In the neighbouring villages, especially Shokr, the walls display the posters and pictures of Mohamed Sarhan, a strong Wafdist rival. The slogan is that the "Wafd is the guarantee for your constitutional rights." Shokr is the stronghold of Sarhan; he has a house and a farm there.
Last week, the electioneering reached its climax when Sarhan, on horse-back and followed by hundreds of supporters, toured the villages of Al-Manshiya Al-Soghra and Al-Manshiya Al-Kobra. For his part, Mohieddin organised a public rally which attracted many followers, including popular singer Azza Balba' and renowned poet Abdel-Rahman Al-Abnoudi, who came from Cairo to back the leading leftist candidate.
The rivalry between the two candidates has existed for many years. Sarhan's father ran against Mohieddin in the 1964 elections.
Sarhan Jr competed against Mohieddin in the 1995 elections.
Mohieddin hails from a large, wealthy family, with deep roots in the area. He concedes that this works in his favour in the elections. "Of course, when you hail from a big family, you have greater influence. However, the struggle is not easy because other candidates hail from big families, too," Mohieddin told Al-Ahram Weekly.
There are 12 candidates in the Kafr Shukr constituency competing for its two seats. The ruling National Democratic Party's candidate is Abdel-Hamid Farag, head of the municipal council of Banha city, running for the professionals' seat against both Mohieddin and Sarhan. Farag's chances of success appear to be slim because this is the first time he is running for election. Ahmed Seif is running for the workers' seat, also on an NDP ticket. Seif and Mohieddin, who were fierce rivals in the 1990 and 1995 elections, have on this occasion formed a coalition.
"I believe it is a strong coalition. When I have a strong worker candidate who is in alliance with me, it makes my position stronger than the Wafd candidate running for the professionals' seat, who does not have the support of workers," said Mohieddin.
A strong rival of Seif is independent Samir Nosseir, a member of the outgoing People's Assembly. It is expected that they will face each other in the run-off round.
Nabil Al-Ashri is an Islamist candidate running for the workers' seat. The other candidates competing for the same seat are Hassan Zaghari and Al-Doweihi Aql.
"The NDP and the Tagammu are prevailing in Kafr Shokr. The religious trend does not have a broad base," Mohieddin commented. There have been rumours that Mohieddin has government support and the NDP, in a gesture of courtesy, usually fields a weak candidate against him. "This is not true," Mohieddin countered. "My strength is well-known and the proof is that the NDP never managed to field a stronger candidate."
Kafr Shokr has 79 polling stations and 120,000 registered voters.
"We will definitely choose Khaled Mohieddin and Ahmed Seif. Mohieddin is the symbol of our town, a man with a long history. It is enough to know that he was one of the Free Officers who overthrew the monarchy in 1952 and, above all, he is at our service," said Adel El-Sayed, a lawyer in the town of Kafr Shokr.
"I will vote for Sarhan instead," said Mansour Abdou, a resident of Shokr. "We want change, new blood. We are tired of our current situation. A lot of promises with no achievements -- that just about sums it up. Mohieddin is depending on his name and his history, but he is not offering any real solutions for our problems."
Most people interviewed by the Weekly said that they hoped for better public services from whomever was elected. Unemployment and a poorly working sewage system are among the issues most people prioritised.
"We want new factories to be built and new projects to be launched to provide job opportunities for young people," remarked Sami Hassan, a town resident
Related stories:
Khaled Mohieddin: past and present in one 21 - 27 September 2000
See Elections 2000.
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