Al-Ahram Weekly Issue No. 250 7 - 13 December 1995
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

The 'natural' winner

By Amira Howeidy

People choose the candidates who can serve them best. This is how Mustafa Khalil, deputy chairman of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) for foreign relations, explained the NDP's landslide victory in the first round of parliamentary elections.

Poor opposition television performances and the failure of some leaders to condemn terrorism in unequivocal terms, were also responsible for the NDP's success, according to Khalil, a former prime minister under the late President Anwar El-Sadat.

In a telephone interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, Khalil said that election turnout was usually low in the cities but higher in provincial areas. "The people in the provinces elect candidates on the basis of family loyalties, their posts and the scope of the services they can provide," said Khalil.

"The candidate who can solve the problems in the constituency will win a seat in the People's Assembly. Why should the people vote for an opposition figure, knowing he cannot help them in that way?" Khalil said. He acknowledged that this was an indication of political backwardness, but, added: "This is the way things are done in Egypt."

In Khalil's opinion the performance of opposition leaders on national television was poor and did little to boost their parties' chances. "They said nothing to encourage the voters," he said. "I don't think they managed to persuade them."

The bombing of the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad also drove a wedge between some opposition forces - an illusion to Islamist candidates - and public opinion, according to Khalil. "Many voters objected to the soft position taken by those opposition forces on terrorism," he said. "Some opposition parties went as far as justifying terrorist crimes, describing them as a result of certain social and economic conditions. They did not condemn the phenomenon of terrorism in unambiguous terms and this affected their popularity."

The Islamists wanted to establish their own political party on religious foundations, which was prohibited by law, he continued. "I agree with this law. Take the examples of Iran an Sudan. Both are unacceptable. We should not forget the violent history of the Muslim Brotherhood when they had an underground military wing. We should not believe what they say now [about renouncing violence] because they are using democratic methods only as a means to assassinate democracy."

The NDP's past record was another factor that contributed to its success, Khalil said. "The achievements of the NDP speak for themselves. What has the opposition ever done? What could it have done even if it had won 25 or 30 per cent of the parliamentary seats? Would any of the opposition parties have been able to implement their policies?"

He brushed off criticism of the NDP from the opposition press. These newspapers, he said, were mainly concerned with tarnishing the NDP's image and belittling its achievements. "All they care about is making allegations against the NDP," he said. "But this policy has the opposite result, because people can see the NDP's achievements with their own eyes. So they simply chose not to vote for the opposition.

ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription

WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg

Al-Ahram Organisation