WATANI International
26 September 2010
As the November parliamentary elections approach, a heated debate is underway over whether to contest or boycott the elections. The situation raises a crucial question: Are Egyptian opposition parties sufficiently prepared to compete and score victories?
Legal opposition parties are apparently divided over the issue. Both the liberal Ghad and Democratic Front parties chose to boycott, claiming guarantees of free and fair elections are absent. Contrariwise, the liberal Wafd and left-wing Tagammu and Nasserist parties decided to run the electoral race. Similarly, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood (MB) said it would run.
Meanwhile a group of political movements including Kifaya (literally ‘Enough’) and the National Association for Change advocate the boycott approach on the grounds that ordinary people hold the conviction that legislative elections will certainly be rigged.
Popularity test
Salah Eissa, editor-in-chief of Al-Qahira weekly newspaper and himself a prominent writer and activist, argues that elections represent a good opportunity for parties to test their popularity and publicise their principles and platforms. By the same token, he says, elections provide parties with the experience of interacting with the people and influencing their vote. To Eissa, the sole advantage the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) has over opposition parties is the probability of administrative bodies interfering in its favour. “The British Experience shows that a small party can emerge victorious should the electoral process be free and fair,” he adds. “Everything depends then on whether the elections are impartial or not. Parties such as the Nasserist, Wafd or Tagammu have appealing programmes and efficient leadership, thus they are qualified to achieve satisfactory results. Yet there is a complex problem characterising the electoral process: the low ballot turnout. The majority of the Egyptian public do not cast their votes.
“Given the deficiency in the current individual candidacy system, there should be a switch to a slate system. But more important, the fact should not be overlooked that political parties suffer shortcomings. They need to face such a reality if they are serious in presenting themselves as an alternative to the NDP.”
Unhealthy climate
Abul-Ezz al-Hariri, former leader of the Tagammu, thinks Egypt lacks a healthy electoral atmosphere in the first place. “One could even say that Egypt has no real opposition parties. Actually, instead of posing a real threat to the regime, these parties provide it with the legitimacy it needs to survive,” he adds. “Opposition parties accept the appointment by the president of a specific number of MPs to both the People’s Assembly and the Shura (Consultative) Council—the lower and upper houses of Egypt’s Parliament, respectively—and allow security apparatuses to interfere in their candidacy lists. This in itself makes them, in the eyes of the public, by no means trustworthy.
“The MB, which secured about a fifth of the seats in the 2005 legislative elections, has no sound platform. They won a large number of seats because their reactionary positions vis-à-vis women and Copts sometimes appeal to segments of the population,” Mr Hariri concluded, adding: “Egypt has neither a political life nor a reliable parliamentary system.”
Staunch Nasserist Abdel-Halim Qandil, coordinator of Kifaya, argues that security intervention in elections leave no room for free balloting. “The Shura election is indicative in this regard,” he adds. “The fact that a Tagammu candidate won 131,000 votes shows that security apparatuses are free-handed in fabricating the results in favour of the candidates they support; it never happened in this country’s history that a candidate got 131,000 votes. To win, you should be able to secure the State’srather than the voters’ sympathy.”
Fake legitimacy
Dr Qandil believes that opposition parties are plagued by the lack of internal democracy and appealing programmes. In his view, these parties have a sole objective: to grant the regime a fake legitimacy in the eyes of the world. He indicated that Kifaya had repeatedly called for boycotting the elections to strip the regime of any legitimacy and expose collaborators. He disclosed on the movement’s plans to form a shadow government and parliament. “To those who cast doubts over the ability of the Egyptian people to rebel, I advise them to follow the news on people’s demonstrations, strikes and sit-ins,” he concluded.