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| Africa: North |
| Egypt Seeks Multi-Candidate Presidential Race |
| 2005-02-26 |
| More than one candidate will be able to stand in presidential elections in Egypt under a constitutional change proposed by President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday, partially meeting opposition demands for reform. The move would allow the first multi-candidate presidential elections since the 1952 revolution, and follows pressure from the United States for political changes. Opposition activists welcomed the step but some said it fell short of their demands because Mubarak's comments, made in a televised speech, appeared to limit potential presidential rivals to political parties rather than letting any citizen run. Mubarak, 76, said he had proposed to parliament changing the constitution "to give the opportunity to political parties to enter the presidential elections and provide guarantees that allow more than one candidate to be put forward to the presidency for people to choose among them freely." Under the existing system, parliament, which is dominated by Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), has to approve the sole candidate, who then must be approved in a referendum-style public vote. The next presidential vote was due in September. "I took the reins of this initiative in order to start a new era ... on the way of reform," Mubarak, who has ruled since 1981, told a gathering in the Nile Delta, north of Cairo. Although an economic reform program was launched with a new cabinet in July, there has been little movement on the political front until now. Mubarak said the proposal to change article 76 of the constitution had been presented to parliament, and would then go to a public referendum before the coming presidential vote. Analysts said the step was both a response to calls from Washington for political reform and an increasingly vocal opposition inside Egypt, which analysts say has been emboldened by U.S. pressure on Egypt. Cairo has always insisted that reforms are homegrown. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice canceled plans to visit Egypt next week, which one U.S. official said was to give Egyptians more time to work on issues of democratic reform. EGYPT UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT Egypt has also come under the spotlight for the detention in January of Ayman Nour, the leader of the opposition Ghad (Tomorrow) party. Rice expressed Washington's "very strong concerns" and said she wanted the case resolved swiftly. Egypt says the Nour case is a judicial not political matter. Several opposition activists welcomed Mubarak's announcement but some said any citizen should be allowed to stand and said they also wanted steps to restrict the number of terms a president could serve. Mubarak is currently serving his fourth six-year term, and is widely expected to run for a fifth term although he has not announced his intentions. Restricting presidential candidates to political parties would prevent groups like the officially banned Muslim Brotherhood, one of the biggest opposition groups in Egypt, from fielding a candidate. "This is a historic step. For the first time since the days of the pharaohs, the Egyptian people will choose their ruler," said Mohamed Ulwan, assistant head of the opposition Al-Wafd party, but said any citizen should be allowed to run. "What the president proposed today is a just a crack in the wall ... This step is not enough," said Abdel-Halim Qandil, editor of an opposition newspaper and a campaigner for reform. Mazen Mostafa, a member of the Ghad party, said he welcomed the move but worried that the arrest of Nour could be used to undermine his party's ability to campaign in any election. Mostafa had joined Monday's protest in Cairo in which several hundred Egyptians called for an end to Mubarak's rule. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #1 For the first time since the days of the pharaohs, the Egyptian people will choose their ruler," Learn your own history, O Egyptian person, the Egyptian people have never had a voice in choosing their rulers. Honestly! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-02-26 10:47:12 PM |