Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 16 - 22 November 2000 Issue No.508
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

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Setting the standard

By Nevine Khalil

As this year's parliamentary elections neared their close, President Hosni Mubarak urged all political parties, including his own ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), to assess their performance and lay down new foundations for partisan activity. Describing the ballot as "undoubtedly a bright spot in our life," Mubarak asked all parties to set up working groups "to come up with the best solutions that will serve as the bases and foundations for partisan and political activity in the future."

After the opening of the revamped Dar Al-Tahrir publishing house on Sunday, the president told to a gathering of journalists and intellectuals that voters choose "the candidate who will serve them," and indicated that "political affiliation is still weak." After 23 years since the multi-party system was instated, "parties, including the NDP, must evaluate their agenda and decide on how best to increase and improve political participation in the future," Mubarak said.

"I was very pleased with this unprecedented and successful [electoral] experience," Mubarak noted. But he conceded that some "negative aspects" -- including scattered incidents of violence -- remained a problem to be contended with. "The supporters of some candidates were out of line," he noted, "but the police intervened and did a good job in securing the situation."

photo: Ahmed Afifi

The president said he did personally not attend the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Doha early this week because he wanted to stay home and follow the elections. "I decided I will not leave the country as long as the elections are going on," Mubarak said, "out of respect for the electorate."

Egypt's delegation to the OIC, headed by Prime Minister Atef Ebeid, presented three proposals to the summit: an increase of financial aid to the Palestinians, providing assistance for Palestinian orphans and the creation of consultative offices for developing East Jerusalem. Speaking two days ahead of the run-offs of the third and final stage of elections for 444 parliamentary seats, Mubarak said that this year's elections were "a landmark" because of judicial supervision of some 15,000 balloting stations. Still, he added that more should be done to ensure that the lists of voters are authentic and in good order.

"I took steps to place the electoral process under the supervision of the judiciary after listening for many years to opinions on how to promote confidence in the voting process and freedom of choice," Mubarak said, suggesting that this unprecedented initiative opened the door "for all forces in society to participate in free elections for the benefit of the people." Mubarak described the elections, which witnessed a sweeping victory for independent candidates rather than party-backed nominees, as "a milestone in Egypt's political history and a leap forward on the road to democracy." Mubarak spoke of the necessity to find and correct any shortcoming in the electoral process, as well as party politics, and "in light of these, parties should undergo a process of change and reform."

Mubarak said that while it is up to the parties to reform themselves, the government's task will be to prepare correct lists of voters, guided by the national ID number system. He added that voters now have greater faith in the electoral process and in their role in the decision-making process. "The next elections will be even more effective, since people gained more confidence in their voting power," Mubarak added.

Casting his vote in Tuesday's run-offs at a Heliopolis school, Mubarak complained that voter turnout was disappointing, especially in urban areas. "The turnout is not up to standard, especially in towns and cities," he told reporters. "I hope voters in the future trust what we say and know that we want the representatives of the people to be elected by the people."

On Saturday, the president underlined the role of the press and media in exercising and advocating democracy. "No country can seek democracy without depending on a free press and media," he said. He also stated that there will not be a cabinet shuffle, as the country's constitution says that any cabinet change should take place after a presidential referendum and not parliamentary elections.

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Related stories:
Legal nuances
Registering the aftershocks
See Elections 2000

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