17 - 23 May 2001
Issue No.534
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 17 - 23 May 2001 Issue No.534 |
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Spurious excitement
The most interesting development in the Shura Council elections is the interest that the main political parties are taking in this non-legislative body. After virtually ignoring the elections for 20 years they are suddenly imbued with a sense of competition, not least because renegade NDP members are running against the party's official candidates.
The Shura Council was originally founded to assume the Arab Socialist Union's role in overseeing the national press, a task the government wanted to deny taking on board even as it continued to perform it. Beyond this, the council had no part to play in legislation or censorship, a fact that drove the opposition parties to concentrate on People's Assembly elections.
Judicial supervision of elections, introduced this year, no doubt encouraged the parties to embark on entering the Shura battle, and they appear to be keen to use the Shura Council elections as a rehearsal for the People's Assembly elections, as a kind of political training arena as well as a forum for generating publicity.
All things considered, though, the Shura Council, in its present state, is far from being a viable political institution. But if it is ever to take a bigger part in political life it must be allowed to assume legislative responsibilities. Without this, it would make more sense to disband it altogether and save all parties concerned such unnecessary trouble.
* This week's Soapbox speaker is the editor-in-chief of Al-Qahira weekly newspaper.
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