Reform reiterated
Four political parties are embarking on an ambitious political reform programme -- again. Amira Howeidy reports
Opposition parties and independent political figures have yet to despair of their own repeated calls for political reform, reiterated for years via numerous "programmes of action", "coordination committees" and joint statements. Although the drive for reform looked to be running out of steam over the past few years -- as opposition parties fell out with each other over ideological differences -- the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq seems to have served as a wake up call for opposition political forces, who see it as a renewed opportunity to voice their demands for political change and greater democratisation.
On 8 May, four opposition parties -- the liberal Wafd, the leftist Tagammu, and the Nasserist and (the now suspended) Labour parties -- announced the formation of a National Front at a meeting at the Wafd headquarters. According to the Wafd's mouthpiece, Al- Wafd, the front aims at formulating a unified programme for "urgent" political reforms. A committee of representatives from these parties was set up in order to coordinate between them, and embark on the realisation of the programme.
The goal is also to invite other political forces, syndicates and organisations to join the front, as well as disseminate the programme throughout the nation's various governorates as an alternative to the government's policies. A popular rally is to be held to announce this later stage. According to sources in the coordination committee, the four political party leaders are also contemplating the idea of adopting this programme in the 2005 parliamentary elections.
The committee has already held two meetings. Although no deadlines have been set for the project's progress, Abdel-Hamid Barakat, the Labour Party's representative at the coordination committee, said that they might be announcing names of other political forces who might join the front within the coming two weeks.
The country's largest opposition group, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, was not invited to the Front's meetings, although Barakat suggested the banned group might join in at a later stage.
A series of meetings preceded the announcement of the Front. The most intense of these were hosted at the Wafd Party after the war on Iraq. That is ironic, perhaps, considering that the party has been criticised for the pro- government line adopted by its current chairman, No'man Gomaa, who took over three years ago following the death of longtime party leader Fouad Serageddin.
Prior to their 8 May meeting, the leaders of the four parties issued a "statement for change" which called for a reduction in the president's executive powers, and demanded serious constitutional changes before the end of the current presidential term, which expires in 2005.
The statement blamed the Anglo- American invasion of Iraq on an "absence of democracy", and called for "liberating Egyptian politics from the stifling of freedom, fundamental human rights and real democracy".
This liberation, it said, begins with seven steps, the first of which is electing the president and his vice-president (s). Other demands included cancelling the emergency law, which has been in force since 1981, the release of all political prisoners, guaranteeing free and fair elections, allowing the formation of political parties, lifting the current "legal and political siege" imposed on existing parties, lifting all restrictions on peaceful public assembly, including demonstrations, strikes, sit-ins, the holding of rallies and the dissemination of political literature.
The four leaders' statement stressed the need for a "complete separation" between the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and the state, thus ensuring the independence of professional and labour syndicates, NGOs and civil society.
"The undersigned hope that this call will serve as a first step towards real political and constitutional reform that will ensure a peaceful succession of power in Egypt," said the statement signed by chairmen Diaaeddin Dawoud of the Nasserist Party, Khaled Mohieddin of the Tagammu, Ibrahim Shoukri of Labour and No'man Gomaa of the Wafd.
Considered daring by Egyptian standards, the statement was not published or even referred to in the Wafd's mouthpiece, but was promoted in Al- Arabi, the Nasserist Party's paper.
Critics argue such "considerations" are very telling of how this ambitious project will fare. A member of the coordination committee told Al-Ahram Weekly -- on condition of anonymity -- that Goma'a is expected to change his mind "in a minute if it doesn't suit his political calculations". The source said, "I'm personally not optimistic about the Front, but we have no other channel of political practice."
Previous efforts to create a unified front of the country's main political forces have failed. The last attempt was in 1997 when disagreements between the Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition parties over adopting Islamic Shari'a thwarted the "National Charter" -- turning it into a stillborn initiative for political reform.
Last November, the Nasserist, Wafd and Tagammu parties formed the Committee for the Defence of Democracy together with a number of rights groups that also excluded the Brotherhood. The committee pledged to introduce a programme for political reform and democracy, but it never did, and its makers and the media soon forgot the project.
The same protagonists now say they are offering a different project; one that "rises to the level of the challenges facing the Arab nation" after the invasion of Iraq, and in light of US plans for the region.
"What happened in Iraq completely exposed all the Arab regimes," said Hussein Abdel-Razeq, who is representing the Tagammu Party at the coordination committee. Abdel- Razeq told the Weekly that "it also exposed the regression of Egyptian democracy, as seen in the government clampdown on the anti-war protests and subsequent arrests and torture of activists." Egypt is "undergoing a serious political crisis, which is not to say that we don't have economic, social and cultural crises as well". Abdel- Razeq called the front "a way out, a salvation programme".
The domestic scene's stagnation is sure to be a barrier, however, to such endeavours. Previous efforts have either failed, or proved futile, largely as a result of how ineffective political parties are when it comes to moving public opinion, and the actual political decision-making process. Abdel-Razeq agreed, but still retained hope in this project. "Today, the political parties are convinced that the current situation is in dire need of new policies. Yes, we met dozens of times in the past and issued dozens of statements, etc, but this time there is an agreement that we need a permanent body that works towards [actually] activating the things we say in statements."
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 22 - 28 May 2003 (Issue No. 639)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/639/eg4.htm