The parliamentary elections are the final step of the three-step road map in Egypt, following the constitution referendum and the presidential elections – both being held this year.
Although no official date has yet been set for the parliamentary elections, candidates have started searching for a party list to join to ensure people and party support, whether through propaganda or as the only gateway to get into the parliament.
The parliamentary elections are the final step of the three-step road map in Egypt, following the constitution referendum and the presidential elections – both being held this year.
Although no official date has yet been set for the parliamentary elections, candidates have started searching for a party list to join to ensure people and party support, whether through propaganda or as the only gateway to get into the parliament.
Issued by Interim President Adly Mansour on June 4, the election-regulating Political Rights Law assigns 420 seats for independents and only 120 seats for closed party lists. This makes the anticipated parliamentary composition much different from the previous one, which was dominated by the Islamist bloc comprised of the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists, where 360 seats were designated for closed party lists and only 180 seats for independents.
Suitable for remnants
Nabil Awadallah, the owner of an advertising office in Fayoum and member of the Free Egyptians Party (FEP), criticizes the new law because running as independents is not easy as it sounds. “It requires a lot of money and influence and only suits remnants,” said Awadallah, stressing that he would run the elections as a party candidate for Upper Egypt.
He believes that the elections are all about family ties. The credit for winning elections, says Awadallah, is not given to the party, but to such ties on which Upper Egypt highly depends. In his electoral campaign, Awadallah relies on his family, which is distributed all over Egypt where he can expect nearly 400,000 votes at the level of Upper Egypt.
Completing the journey
“This law serves neither diversity of parties nor gives them a sufficient opportunity for growth and development,” says Nasr Zughbi, former MP for the Ongoing Revolution list in Fayoum.
Zughbi tried to join a political party during the last weeks to run for its list. He mainly examined the principles of each party and how well it was interested in the benefit of people, but he did not find any party that meets these conditions, so he preferred to run as an independent representing Fayoum’s revolutionists.
Having only remained in the last parliament for four months, Zughbi says the next parliament is very important for the history of Egypt because it will be entrusted with establishment of a real civil state, a state of law. The provisions of the constitution are very good, says Zughbi, but they need legislation; otherwise, they will turn into words without action.
The return of Mubarak’s regime
Amr Hashem Rabie, a political expert at the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, says a greater number of seats have been allocated for independents because Egyptian voters are accustomed to this system and are more encouraged to elect people than parties. He however believes that the new law paves the way for the return of Mubarak’s regime and is not the best for Egypt.
The law, says Rabie, aims “to make the next parliament fragile with no political blocs or agreement among MPs, which clear the way for re-enforcing the 1971 Constitution in order to allow President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to issue laws himself , although he in fact needs to have political parties and blocs with specific visions.”
He argues that the best system in the parliamentary elections is party-list proportional representation because it gives parties the opportunity to enter the parliament and avoids the individual electoral system’s disadvantages of partisanship, sectarianism and money control.
Parties mean trouble
Obeid Abdulqawi Obeid, a 31-year-old former MP for the dissolved National Party, will run as an independent for the Bandar Fayoum constituency. He says political parties are trouble and people join them for their heads rather than for their programs.
Celebrating the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, Obeid hung large banners in downtown Fayoum, brought a band, and distributed calendars and lanterns to passers-by in the Nadi Street. He moved quickly and did not wait for official candidacy.
“I do not deny that I was a member of the dissolved National Party,” claims Obeid. “Whenever someone criticizes me for being a remnant, I say I was a remnant and I have repented. I hurt no one. This is why people say to me now: ‘You are a remnant, but we like you.'”
Bad law
Abdulmoneim Abdulaleem, 36, is the youngest former member of the Shura Council for the Salafist Al-Nour Party which won 25 percent of the seats of the previous parliament.
Insisting that he will only run for the next parliament through his party, Abdulaleem disagrees with Obeid and believes that the next parliament is one of the most controversial because it is based on a new constitution and will work to pass too many laws since it is a critical time with deteriorated security situation. “Most likely, influential people, businessmen and some remnants will enter the parliament,” he argues.
Harsh law for political parties
Saber Atta, member of the Wafd Party Supreme Body and Chairman of the Wafd Public Committee in Fayoum, believes that the new law protects party affiliation. A candidate, says “Atta, may not change his or her electoral capacity and political affiliation after winning the elections; otherwise, s/he would be removed from the parliament, and this is what we have been calling for.”
Atta says a political party supports its candidates through a good list of candidates, underscoring that it is ok to have candidates from the remnants as long as they have been honest and have not committed any contravention.
FEP Secretary in Fayoum Governorate Ahmad Rabie disagrees with Atta, arguing that the new law is harsh for political parties, especially small ones, and that it has put them in a deadlock. The 120 seats allocated for party lists, says Rabie, are not enough.
He claims that political parties now face the disadvantages of this law through alliances, which is a good thing if done without a help from the remnants in order to have a strong parliament and prevent Egypt from going back to square one.
