| With violence continuing on the streets of Tahrir, will the country be able to hold its first parliamentary elections of post-revolution Egypt on time? |
| By Passant Rabie |
| The streets outside Tahrir Square are still decorated with banners painted with the faces and logos of parliamentary hopefuls. Inside the confines of the famous square is quite different, however, filled with ambulance sirens, the scent of tear gas and loud chants against a military government.Less than a week ago, the hot topic on Egypt’s political agenda was the upcoming parliamentary elections, the first to take place since the downfall of the Mubarak regime, set to begin on November 28. However, as protestors continue to flood Tahrir Square and march across different governorates, the fate of the elections hangs in the balance with political parties and candidates divided on whether to hold the parliamentary elections on time or postpone them until the dust of Tahrir settles. The protests began on November 18 as tens of thousands gathered in Tahrir Square for a Friday protest against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), demanding a set date for the transfer of power to a civilian government. After some 200 of the protestors set up tents for a sit-in, riot police moved in and allegedly began attacking the protestors’ tents, firing tear gas and rubber bullets, and beating members of the small crowd with batons. As the fighting continued through the night, thousands of people joined the protests at the square on November 19, and clashes with the police forces increased in intensity. On Tuesday, November 22, the fourth day of the deadly clashes between protestors and security forces, SCAF announced that parliamentary elections would be held on schedule.Emad Gad, a political analyst with Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, believes that holding the elections on time is not a viable option. “If they insist on the elections [starting on November 28], then participation will be less than 10% because people are going to be too scared to participate due to the recent outbreak of violence,” he says. A number of political forces, including Al Wafd Party and the Free Egyptians Party among others, share those concerns and are hoping that the SCAF agrees to postpone elections for two weeks. The Free Egyptians Party has also suspending its campaigning to protest the use of violence by security forces against the protestors. One of the first to shelve his campaign posters was Mahmoud Salem, better known by his blogging name ‘Sandmonkey.’ Salem is running under the banner of the Free Egyptians Party for the Heliopolis seat in the People's Assembly. “I did not withdraw from the elections, I froze my campaign,” says Salem. “If I end up winning then kheir w baraka[blessings] but I’m not actively campaigning.” Salem says that postponing the elections for two weeks would allow time for a new cabinet to be formed, after Essam Sharaf's government resigned on November 21, and give security forces time to control the situation and hold those responsible for the killings of the protestors accountable. Should the elections still be held on Monday, November 28, Salem is not optimistic, particularly when it comes to the middle-class neighborhood in which he is running. “We’re going to wait and see, it will definitely scare away the regular street, or the moderates, from going to elections […] if it was expected to be a 50-60% voter turnout, right now I’d be happy if 30% showed up to vote.” Aside from its effect on voter turnout, the ongoing protest may have also affected the popularity of one particular group — the Muslim Brotherhood. While the November 18 protest in Tahrir Square was mobilized and heavily attended by the country’s most controversial political force, the Muslim Brotherhood removed themselves from the square afterward. Their political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), released a statement condemning the violent measures used by security forces but also refusing to to join the protests. “The Muslim Brotherhood have lost a lot of votes because of their position on the ongoing protests,” says Gad, “because people could see that they want more than anything to have the elections, and therefore they turned their back on what’s going on in Tahrir.” Across Tahrir Square, as well as during protests in other governorates, people have chanted against the Muslim Brotherhood, whom they accuse of abandoning the protestors. On November 21, Mohamed El-Beltagy, one of FJP’s leading figures, was kicked out of Tahrir Square by angry protestors when he stopped by to show support. Amr Darrag, a professor at the Faculty of Engineering in Cairo University and a member of the FJP's higher committee, is running for a seat in the governorate of Giza. He believes that the party’s stance on the protests was simply misunderstood. “As a political group, our official stance is that we believe the protests are going to slow down the democratic process,” says Darrag. “We chose to take this stance whether or not it will affect our popularity.” According to Darrag, the party’s main interest is for elections to take place on time for the sake of the country, regardless of the number of seats the FJP acquires in parliament. “We believe in the elections as the only way for democratic transition and for the country to have a civil government in power that is able to represent the people,” he says, noting that some people may actually appreciate the party’s stance. Accordingly, Darrag believes that the ongoing protests will not have an effect on the voting process. “I think that once the violence subsides, then it won’t affect voter turnout for the elections,” he says. “The people can still stay at the square,” Darrag continues. “They have legitimate demands so there doesn’t need to be a split between elections and protests.” |
Be Social
Comments
Leave a Comment