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STUDY VISIT Representatives of Egyptian Political Parties and Campaigns 11-15 July BACKGROUND NOTE for SPEAKERS ______

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STUDY VISIT Representatives of Egyptian Political Parties and Campaigns 11-15 July BACKGROUND NOTE for SPEAKERS ______ Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union Office for Promotion of Parliamentary Democracy STUDY VISIT Representatives of Egyptian political parties and campaigns 11-15 July BACKGROUND NOTE FOR SPEAKERS ___________________________ Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world, erupted in mass protests in January 2011, as the revolution in Tunisia inflamed decades of grievances against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak in a context of increasing political and socio-economic frustration. Following 18 days of angry protests and after losing the support of the military and of several allies, Mr. Mubarak resigned on 11 February, ending 30 years of autocratic rule. Following the resignation, the military stepped forward and took power, deciding to quickly suspend unpopular provisions of the constitution, dissolving the People’s Assembly and the Shura Council (the two components of the legislative branch), and declaring its intention to hand power back to civilians before the end of 2011. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), headed by Defense Minister Muhammad Hussein Tantawi, assumed control. Since March 4 2011 Prime Minister Essam Abdel Aziz Sharaf, a former transport minister under Mr Mubarak, is the new head of government. On March 20, a set of constitutional amendments that prepared for elections was overwhelmingly approved by 77% of Egyptians in a referendum that saw an unprecedented turnout, 18 millions of people out of 45 millions eligible voters. The package of amendments approved includes1: Presidential candidates would have three options to get onto the ballot: (1) nomination by a political party that has at least one seat in the PA or the Shura Council; (2) the endorsement of 30 elected members of the People's Assembly or the Shura Council; or (3) being supported by 30,000 eligible voters from at least 15 governorates, including at least 1,000 from each governorate. The presidential term would be reduced from six to four years, with a two-term limit. The President would be required to appoint at least one vice-president. The role of the judiciary in supervising the electoral process would be restored and the judiciary would serve as the final arbiter of the validity of legal challenges to election results. The President or half of the MPs could call for a new Constitution to be drafted, by a 100 member constitutional committee selected by elected members of the PA and the Shura Council. The President would be able to call a state of emergency, but only with PA approval and only for a period of six months. Extension of a state of emergency beyond six months would require approval by a public referendum. 1 International Foundation for Electoral Systems April 2011 Elections in Egypt: Lessons from the 2011 Constitutional Referendum and the Constitutional Declaration Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union Office for Promotion of Parliamentary Democracy Article 179 which sets aside human rights provisions in terrorism cases would be repealed. On March 30 the SCAF (military council) issued a Constitutional Declaration setting out the constitutional framework that will apply in Egypt until a new constitution can be drafted following parliamentary and presidential elections. However, there have been calls for parliamentary elections to be delayed to allow more time for new and emerging political forces to become established and to prepare to contest the elections. The military council will oversee the transition process until the elections are held. The Constitutional Declaration foresees that the SCAF should call a joint sitting of the People's Assembly and the Shura Council within six months of their election to elect a 100-member Constitutional Assembly that will be responsible for drafting a new Constitution. The Assembly must produce its draft within six months, and a referendum must then be held within 15 days to approve or reject the new Constitution. The Constitutional Declaration does not specify the composition of the Assembly, its leadership or organization, how its membership will be elected, or any requirement for it to invite public submissions on the new Constitution or undertake public consultations. As far as the role of the new political parties is concerned, most of the existing political and other civil society forces in Egypt remain relatively weak2, lacking experience and to some extend strategies so as to constitute clear alternatives to the policies of the military council. In fact, in spite of the cohesion reached during the protests against Mubarak, political and civil society groups are also very fragmented and have been unable so far to elaborate a common platform. Political Parties represented within the study visit The Arab Democratic Nasserist Party (Hizb Al Arabi Al Naseri) was formally licensed in 1992 under the leadership of Diaeddin Daoud, after a decade-long legal battle with the Political Parties Committee and other government institutions attempting to prevent the organization’s bid for legal recognition. The Nasserist Party endorses Arab nationalism, socialism, and other ideals associated with the 1952 revolution. The party has modeled itself after the former Arab Socialist Union Party and still adheres to key documents that emerged from the nationalist revolution. Al-Wasat (Center) Party was founded in 1996 when several young members of the Muslim Brotherhood broke away from the organization to form their own party. The party seeks to interpret Islamic principles in a manner consistent with the values of a liberal democratic system. Although al-Wasat advocates a political system that is firmly anchored in Islamic law, it also views sharia's principles as flexible and wholly compatible with the principles of pluralism and equal citizenship rights3. Al-Wasat has applied for legal party status several times since 1996 but was always denied. In 2000, the government did grant al-Wasat permission to form an NGO. The Al-Wasat Party is said to defend equal citizens' rights, regardless of religion or 2 M.C. Paciello: "Egypt: Changes and Challenges of Political Transition" MEDPRO Technical Report May 4 2011 3 Carnegie Guide to Egypt's Elections, information retrieved from: http://egyptelections.carnegieendowment.org/2010/09/16/center-al-wasat-party; Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union Office for Promotion of Parliamentary Democracy gender and it profiles itself as an advocate for the poor and middle class and has a liberal approach towards private sector investment. On foreign policy issues the party pushes for an increased cooperation between Arab countries in military, political and economic affairs. Abu al- ‘Ala Madi is a founder and president of the Al-Wasat party. Dignity (El-Karama) Party, a left-leaning Nasserist party, was founded in 1996 by Hamdeen Sabahi, a former parliamentary representative of the Arab Democratic Nasserist party who had defected from the group over disagreements with its leader, Diaeddin Daoud. Al-Karama has socialist tendencies and calls for political pluralism. The party has denounced President Mubarak’s government for monopolizing political power and restricting the activities of opposition groups. El-Karama had petitioned the Political Parties Committee (PPC) for legal status without success. In 2002, the PPC claimed that the party’s platform was not unique enough in comparison to other existing opposition groups, and in 2004 said that it “espoused a radical ideology.” In the 2000 parliamentary elections, El-Karama leader Hamdeen Sabahi ran as an independent candidate and won a seat. El-Karama supports the National Association for Change4. April 6 Youth Movement was created in 2008 as a Facebook group to support the workers protesting in the city of al-Mahalla al-Kubra. As the protests escalated into a nationwide strike, the Facebook group gained momentum and eventually coalesced into a political movement known as the April 6 Youth Movement. The group has since organized other protests and demonstrations including solidarity protests for Gaza and demonstrations in support of jailed journalists and bloggers. In 2009, the group claimed a membership of around 70,000 young Egyptians, most of whom are well-educated and politically unaffiliated. Like other protest movements in Egypt, the April 6 Youth Movement is not a formal political party. The movement has suffered from regime oppression and its anniversary strikes in 2009 and 2010 ended in deadly violence5. Esraa Rashid, one of the movement's founding members was jailed for organizing the strike in 2008 while her colleague Ahmed Maher was tortured by the police in order to provide them with the group's administrator password6. The People's Socialist Coalition Party (Hizeb Tahaluf El Shaab El Eshtraky) held its founding meeting on 26 February 2011. Presently the party's efforts are channelled into two main directions: setting up the party and forming its position about current events. The party is also preparing educational booklets explaining the principles and ideologies of socialism. On 1 May the party organised its first party congress. Although the concrete programme is still under discussion, the five main objectives of the party were outlined: political (towards building a new democracy), economic (the human before the profit), social (humans are the foundation of development), cultural (towards a creative and free society) and foreign policy (Egypt’s contribution towards a free and fair world). The congress was chaired by Ibrahim El-Essawy,
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