Global IssuesEGYPT: Parties Proliferate in Political Spring
The liberalisation of Egypt's political process following the Jan. 25 Revolution has led to a proliferation of new political parties, both religiously-oriented and secular. Within the last five months, four new parties have officially launched, while at least 16 others are currently in the pipeline.
'Any country emerging from a popular revolution is bound to see a plethora of new parties - this is a sign of political health,' Amr Hashim Rabie, expert in political affairs at the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, told IPS.
One week after the Feb. 11 ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak, the Wasat (Centre) Party became the first new party to emerge in the post-Mubarak era following a ruling by Egypt's High Administrative Court. Consisting of self-styled moderate Islamists, the party - a breakaway faction from Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement - had tried in vain to achieve party status for 15 years.
In late March, Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which has governed the country since Mubarak's removal, issued a new law regulating the formation of parties. After 30 years of political monopolisation by Mubarak's now-dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP), the law aims to ease requirements for establishing parties.
For one, the new law established a Political Affairs Committee consisting of senior judges and headed up by the first deputy of Egypt's Supreme Court. Under Mubarak, the committee had been chaired by the head of the Shura Council, a position reserved for NDP loyalists.
According to the new law, would-be parties must have at least 5,000 founding members in at least ten out of Egypt's 26 provinces. Parties based solely on religion, or which have military or paramilitary associations, are banned.
The new law, like its Mubarak-era counterpart, also limits parties to contributions from individual donors; donations from institutions or companies are prohibited.
Prospective parties must provide the committee with their political programmes and membership lists, both of which must be published - at the party's expense - in two major newspapers. They must also inform the committee of their sources of funding.
According to the terms of the new law, new parties are automatically approved 30 days after their initial application, barring objections by the committee.
Under the former regime, the establishment of new parties had been almost impossible, while so- called 'official' opposition parties - such as the Wafd and Tagammu parties - had served largely as extensions of Mubarak's ruling NDP.
'Under Mubarak, the so-called 'opposition' parties - which had no popular support whatsoever - were there simply to lend legitimacy the ruling regime,' said Rabie. 'The new post-revolution parties that are now emerging, by contrast, will actually serve their respective electorates.'
The first party to be approved by the revamped Political Affairs Committee was the Freedom and Justice Party, which officially launched on Jun. 7. The new party, established by the influential Muslim Brotherhood movement, is widely expected to play a major role in Egypt's next government.
Less than one week later, the committee approved the Nour (Light) Party, representing Egypt's ultra- conservative Salafi-Muslim movement.
Most recently, on Jun. 27, the liberal-oriented Al-Adl (Justice) Party received the committee's formal approval. The new party's membership consists largely of young revolutionary activists.
At least 16 other would-be parties are reportedly in the pipeline, including three leftist parties; three more Islamist-oriented parties; five more liberal parties; two more revolutionary youth-oriented parties; and three parties associated with former members of the disbanded NDP. There has also been talk of a party being formed by the hard-line Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, and another by Egyptian Sufi orders.
But some critics complain that, despite the new law, serious impediments to establishing parties remain - especially in terms of hard-to-obtain funding.
'The new law has certainly made it easier, but the costs involved in launching new parties remain prohibitive,' Mohamed al-Sakhawi, founder of the proposed Arabic Unity Party told IPS. 'Including the cost of publishing membership lists and party programmes in two major newspapers, total expenditures can reach as much as 350,000 Egyptian pounds (approximately 60,000 dollars).
'This means that prospective parties must depend solely on membership dues or contributions from wealthy donors - a tall order for parties of leftist or nationalist orientations,' al-Sakhawi added.
Rabie agreed, noting that the funding issue would continue to constitute a 'major obstacle' to Egypt's democratic development. 'Needless to say, revolutionary-youth or socialist-oriented parties will have difficulty raising contributions from donors such as wealthy businessmen,' he said.
Rabie criticised the ban on institutional donations, noting that even Egyptian NGOs - despite obvious political sensitivities - were permitted to receive funding from institutions, both local and foreign.
In light of these grievances, the ruling SCAF on Jun. 27 reportedly decided to exempt the newly- founded al-Adl Party, along with other prospective youth-oriented parties, from the cost of publishing their membership lists and party programmes in two prominent dailies.
'Due to the high costs involved, the military council has decided to exempt the al-Adl Party and other new youth parties from newspaper costs…to encourage them to participate in the political arena,' the party said in a statement.
The move prompted prominent political commentator Ibrahim Eissa to note that the ruling SCAF 'appears to have realised that the funding issue remains a serious obstacle to the establishment of new parties, especially youth-oriented ones.'
Parties are not, however, being approved without question. On Jun. 27, the Political Affairs Committee demanded that two would-be liberal parties - the Free Egyptians Party, founded by Coptic-Christian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, and the Egyptian Social Democratic Party - reveal their sources of funding.
While some observers express concern that the unprecedented array of new political parties might confuse an already-overwhelmed public, Rabie dismisses such fears.
'Most new parties will quickly be weeded out by the ballot box,' he said. 'Within the coming five years, only three or four will distinguish themselves as forces to be reckoned with - the rest will fall by the wayside.'
© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service