Round two

By Ismail de Coursac

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Voters who recently chose to entrust a fifth term as president to Hosni Mubarak expressed an active confidence in him. Voters who did not take part in the poll -- being the majority -- expressed passive acceptance. In Egypt today, one question haunts the political scene: that of honesty. Without carrying the vote, the opposition ensures standing when its newspapers talk about fraud and corruption. If even one case of corruption is proven, while not proof of the dishonesty of the entire system the public tends to take it thus, with two consequences. On the one hand, the opposition is bolstered. On the other, depending on how deep corruption runs, an alternative can be that when told to vote for the candidate of his choice, the average citizen is so sure there'll be a fraud he elects not to bother. Official financial probity is therefore often a prerequisite for faith in political honesty.

The debate on adherence to the legal provisions set out for the elections, along with listed irregularities, is likely to be sterile if everything returns to the same starting point. A politician who addresses only his followers decreases his audience. He who addresses adversaries increases his. Manipulation, blackmail and intimidation exist. Excessive zeal can lead some civil servants to violate laws in order to maintain an established order. It is by emboldening the fight against fraud and corruption that the president of the republic will transform passive acceptance into active consent. Though he won on the first round, such a task lies ahead for President Mubarak, and which may be seen as the "second round" of Egypt's recent presidential elections.

This week's Soapbox speaker is permanent correspondent for France -- Pays Arabes magazine in Cairo.

Al-Ahram Weekly Online : Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/761/op7.htm