Cairo Magazine - A candidate unlike any other

MENA

The whole affair had a Clintonesque touch of populism. In a little town away from the capital and the country’s elite, amidst the galabeya-clad farmers and local notables, a pledge was made to reform the country and take back politics for the people.

But the candidate is not Bill Clinton and this is not 1992. The candidate is not a young rising star of politics but an elderly president who has ruled with near-absolute power for 24 years.

The speech President Hosni Mubarak delivered on 28 July in Shibin Al Kom in his home governorate of Menoufiya, at the school he attended as a child, was a break from past presidential pronouncements in many ways. In its style, it was unusually earnest and personal and more at ease than the long, occasionally awkward television interviews he has recently given. In its substance, the president promised to introduce the reforms the opposition has been demanding for decades, including the cancellation of the emergency law (to be replaced with an “anti-terror” law) and an adjustment of the government’s balance of power in favor of parliament.

“Should you bestow upon me the honor of continuing to lead the next phase of our journey, we will embark together on the next stage, with its transformations, challenges and hopes, confident that we are on the right path,” Mubarak said.

Some of the topics covered, like Mubarak’s praise for the NGO-funded school system he attended, attempted to seize on fashionable ideas that have found a home in his revamped National Democratic Party, such as the role of civil society in development.

“It’s part of the party’s strategy for the campaign,” explained Abdel Moneim Said, a member of the NDP’s Higher Policies Committee and political scientist who heads Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. “He’s presenting himself as a man from the countryside. He’s giving himself the image of a man outside the Cairo political elite—a doer not a talker.”

After a 50-year career spanning the military, the vice-presidency and then a quarter-century as head of state, Mubarak was addressing the country as an ordinary politician might. His wife Suzanne and his two sons Alaa and Gamal sat in the first row of seats at the school. Beside them was most of the cabinet, one of many clear indications that this was not just another candidate.

No political analyst expects Mubarak to lose the coming elections—so why the theatrics?

It could be one of several public relations ploys to change the image of the ruling National Democratic Party, which began a makeover nearly four years ago to brand itself as Egypt’s leading reformist institution. Like its recently inaugurated annual conferences and the decision soon after the president’s speech to establish a campaign headquarters, the NDP is keen to show the world that it is a party like any other in a democratic country.

The opposition predictably dismissed Mubarak’s electoral promises, even though he addressed most of the main opposition demands.

“This is not real, because competition [in the presidential race] is not equal,” scoffed George Ishaq, a leader of the anti-Mubarak Kifaya movement. “Mubarak is a one-man show.”

Later on the day of the speech, NDP leadership announced that the party had endorsed Mubarak’s nomination—again no big surprises there. The nomination was approved by 5354 NDP members, with eight voting against and another eight absent. The ruling party made the announcement from its campaign headquarters in Heliopolis, where NDP officials praised the president’s message.

“That was the step required by most of the human rights organizations and the opposition,” said the NDP’s new media officer, Lamees Al Hadidi, of the reforms announced in the speech. The NDP’s campaign offices, in addition to coordinating the president’s campaign, will also serve as a fund-raising and polling center. Mohammed Kamal, a senior NDP member who is behind many of these preparations, said the NDP was conducting a telephone poll to assess the president’s popularity and proudly told reporters that he hoped to make the Western-style campaign “a model for the whole region.” With regards to his candidate’s polling thus far, the political operator said early polling data was encouraging. “We are optimistic about that,” Kamal said with genuine earnestness.

Opposition political parties, in the meantime, were busy preparing for the opening of registration for the presidential election the next day. Mubarak’s highest-profile opponent, Al Ghad leader Ayman Nour, was the first candidate to register—his supporters say he arrived at 2am.

Nour’s eagerness may have sparked the first legal dispute of the election. He claims that as the first to register, he chose the symbol of the crescent moon to put on his poster. Symbols such as the crescent moon, a lantern or a pen are used to help illiterate voters distinguish between candidates. The crescent moon, because of its Islamic connotations, is a particular favorite. Later the same say, however, state television announced that Mubarak had chosen the symbol for himself.

Nour chose to launch his own campaign on 30 July at another symbolic location. At a noon press conference outside Beit Al Umma, the palatial house of nationalist leader Saad Zaghloul in Downtown, Nour said that if elected he would lead Egypt through a two-year transitional government and introduce a new constitution.

“Al Ghad’s candidate will stay for 24 months of reform to change the constitution and cancel the emergency law,” Nour said, sweltering under the midday sun, “while President Mubarak has ruled for 24 years!”

Nour will be facing some unexpected opposition, from his former leader from his days as a dissident member of Al Wafd, against which Nour’s Al Ghad has positioned itself as a rival liberal party. Al Wafd leader Nomaan Gomaa announced his candidacy after a long period of hesitation during which many observers believed he would join the boycott along with the other main traditional opposition parties, Al Tagammu and Al Nasseri.

As expected, most other political parties also joined the race—no doubt enticed by state funding for the campaign and unprecedented access to state media. While most candidates are unknown on the national scene, their participation will undoubtedly boost their fame and, perhaps, fortunes.

Thus far 15 candidates have registered, including Mubarak. The registration period will end on 4 August.