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The
ruling NDP holds 90 percent of the parliament’s seats.
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By
Mohammad Gamal Arafa, IOL Staff
CAIRO,
May 10, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Amidst water-tight security to
prevent anti-regime protests outside and in a stormy session, the
Egyptian parliament voted on Tuesday, May 10, to change the
constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections.
The
amendment won the support of 405 of the 454-member People's Assembly,
the lower house which alone has legislative power, thanks to the
overwhelming majority of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP)
which holds 90 percent of seats.
However,
opposition MPs opened salvos at the text, saying it emptied President
Hosni Mubarak's initiative of substance by setting impossible
conditions for fielding presidential candidates.
“The
amendment unfortunately didn’t live up to the aspirations of the
opposition parties and that’s why we reject it,” said Munir Fakhri
Abdel Nour of the opposition Al-Wafd party.
“The
amendment has put prohibitive conditions that virtually cannot be met
by presidential hopefuls and undermine competition with the NDP
candidate.”
Under
the amendment, independent candidates need support from 65 members of
the People's Assembly, 25 of the 176 elected members of the upper
Shura Council and 10 local councilors in 14 of 26 provinces -- as well
as the backing of 70 other elected members of parliament or local
councils.
It
takes effect if approved in a referendum expected later this month,
and after presidential endorsement.
Under
the old system, in force since the 1950s, parliament chose a single
presidential candidate and Egyptians could only vote yes or no in a
referendum.
Mubarak,
in power since 1981, has not yet said if he will seek a fifth six-year
term but is widely expected to stand and win.
Square
One
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Opposition
and NDP MPs took a swipe at one another during the stormy session.
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Leader
of the liberal Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party Ayman Nour also criticized the
amendment.
“The
wording of the amendment takes us back to square one. We feel that we
are restoring the referendum formula by means of elections. The
conditions are an impossible task to achieve,” said Nour, who has
already started campaigning for the presidency.
An
MP for the leftist Al-Tagmu Party said during the stormy session that
party veteran leader Khaled Mohidin decided to withdraw his candidacy.
Mohidin,
however, told Aljazeera news channel that a final decision is yet to
be taken by party leaders.
The
amendment has further caused division inside the opposition Nasserite
party after its MP Haidar El-Bughdadi voted in favor of the amendment,
prompting party leader Diaadin Dawood to fire him.
NDP
members accused the amendment opponents of disloyalty as they wanted
to see Egypt ruled by West-funded candidate.
Boycott
Calls
The
movement for change Kefaya (enough) dismissed the constitutional
amendment as a “cosmetic change” that would prevent genuine
competition, urging Egyptians to boycott the referendum and the
presidential elections.
“We
strictly reject such piecemeal reforms that mislead the Egyptian
people,” the movement said in a statement a copy of which was
obtained by IslamOnline.net.
“The
Egyptians, like any people in the world, are entitled to breathe the
breeze of freedom and enjoy the benefits of democracy.”
The
movement reserved harsh words for the regime.
“This
regime, which entrenches itself in a bastion of corruption and police
rule and after decades of foreign support at the expense of national
interests, has become illegitimate in the legal and political sense of
the word, as it ferociously resists the peaceful democratic change.
“Hence,
Kefaya is urging the entire Egyptian people to boycott a referendum on
the charade of amending constitutional article 76 as well as the
presidential election façade,” it said.
Under
foreign and domestic pressure, Mubarak surprised Egypt in February by
proposing multi-candidate presidential elections, after refusing for
years to change a system which ensures incumbents stay in power
indefinitely.
But
his initiative has failed to quell protests which sprang up this year
to demand more radical reform, including an end to emergency laws in
force since 1981.
