Who won the elections and why?

By Nabil Zaki

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One of the reasons the elections turned out as they did is that the National Democratic Party (NDP) is opposed to proportional representation. The current winner-takes-all system encourages candidates to use all possible means -- legal and illegal -- at their disposal. And it discriminates against Copts, women and the secular opposition. During the recent elections, no one thought of enforcing legal limits on campaign expenditure. This is why candidates thought it was fine to buy votes right and left.

The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) has done well, but that's because decades of political stagnation have decimated the secular opposition. Since the abrogation of political parties in January 1953, the country has been hostage to semi-totalitarian rule. We have laws that penalise dissent. We have laws allowing dissenters to be detained without trial. We have laws that repress expression and punish those who speak up. The 1952 leaders left the door open for the MB to take part in government. Two MB members became ministers in post-1952 cabinets. It was only after the MB challenged Gamal Abdel-Nasser for power that the group was harassed and driven underground. The same thing happened under Anwar El-Sadat, who used Muslim extremists against the leftists, then resented their appetite for position.

Muslim extremists operate freely in our mosques and the streets. And yet secular opposition is banned from factories and universities. Political parties are regularly audited to ensure they don't dabble in commercial activities. Yet, no one is stopping the MB from getting funds from abroad. Some businessmen in this country would conceivably like to join the secular opposition but they cannot. Know why? Because the government makes it clear that unless you join the NDP, your chances of financial security are close to zero. It's no coincidence that the big winners in the last elections were the NDP and the MB.

This week's Soapbox speaker is editor-in-chief of the left-wing opposition weekly Al-Ahali.