CAIRO: Eighty-four percent voted for postponing Egypt’s parliamentary and presidential elections at the first Doha Debates held in Egypt, while 16 percent voted against the motion.
"This house believes for the sake of democracy Egypt should postpone elections," said moderator Tim Sebastian.
The debate was held at the American University in Cairo’s (AUC) Tahrir campus, “the epicenter of the protests that overthrew the Mubarak regime,” as Sebastian put it.
“Would it be better to give more time to emerging personalities and parties in a new political environment or is it best to seize the revolutionary momentum and take politics off the street and put it back into a parliament,” asked Sebastian, who was moderating the debate, in his introduction.
Speaking for the motion, Marwa Sharafeldine, a women’s rights’ activist, argued that over the years Egypt has had numerous elections but they never brought democracy. “We had a dictatorial regime but more importantly…we lacked a very institutional base that any democratic country should have before it holds any meaningful elections.
“It is the foundation that we are in dire need of building now, mainly a new constitution — not a dead one — that guarantees basic personal, political and human rights; a real diversity of representation for freedom of association [and] speech; the rule of law and meaningful limitation of power,” she explained.
Sharafeldine also questioned the mechanism that will be in place to hold elected officials accountable.
She said Egypt needed more time before elections to set up new political parties, to ensure the rule of law and independent media and to weaken the power of the old regime and its security apparatus. Otherwise, she said, old parties and politicians would return and the new vote would be "rigged in spirit."
When Sebastian challenged her that by not holding elections soon, military rule will continue, she answered: “You are [acting] like the old regime, telling us that it is either Mubarak or instability … Now you’re telling me its either elections or the military,” suggesting that an interim president or presidential council take Egypt through the interim period without military rule.
The second speaker arguing for the motion was Shahir George, a member of several movements including the National Association of Change and Kefaya, outlined four main reasons why elections should be postponed.
He questioned how democracy can be achieved without a pluralist environment in which there is no fair representation of other groups who participated in the revolution — especially as those elected will be responsible for drafting the new constitution and setting the foundation for a “new Egypt.”
He also explained that a number of issues, such as the right of Egyptians living abroad to vote, are yet to be sorted out.
George also questioned the possibility of holding three elections in four months and expecting a good and fair representation of candidates.
His fourth argument was that “any elections held under this miserable constitution are a farce to democracy.”
Regarding military rule, George said, “We need a provisional constitution that limits the power of the military and institutionalizes national dialogue,” pointing out that the military wants to listen to the people.
Speaking against postponing elections for the sake of democracy was Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson Essam El-Erian, who argued that any delay in the elections with put the country in a very “critical” situation.
“Civilians must be ready… Egyptians who went out in millions to the streets and mobilized this historic revolution can’t be described as not ready for democracy …they have been waiting for democracy for 60 years,” he explained.
However, when challenged by Sebastian that the Muslim Brotherhood wants “quick elections as they’re better organized” rather than wait to create a fair platform for new parties, El-Erian argued that they are not targeting the majority but will be “satisfied to have 30 percent of the seats and the rest for competition.”
Sherif Taher, a leading member of the liberal Al-Wafd Party, speaking against the motion, argued that it was time for the army to return to its barracks for the sake of national security, as Egypt is surrounded by Libya, Sudan and “eager neighbors on the East.”
“Our vulnerability is increasing and having the military taking charge of the country instead of defending it is increasing this vulnerability, this situation can’t be prolonged,” he explained.
Furthermore, he argued, the army has so far been ruling with a “soft grip” but if the factional demonstrations start getting out of control, the counter-revolution gets out of control as well, “then the army might be forced to take a very aggressive stand and we’ll be led to face a situation like we did in 1952 to 1954.”
The heated debate reached its climax when the audience got a chance to pose questions to the speakers.
“Where were Al-Wafd and the Muslim Brotherhood when we were out suffering on the streets, or when we boycotted the elections you went and participated in,” asked a young man from the audience, to which Taher replied that they were “sitting in the trenches oppressed.”
El-Erian said that they have been oppressed for the past 60 years.
Sharafeldine refuted the response, noting that “the youth were all oppressed and managed to start a revolution,” adding that the current political parties have serious internal issues and their current structures don’t allow for youth participation.
"This fast-food democracy can only create indigestion," she said. "Why are they rushing us?" She added that a timetable for the interim period has to be set, suggesting it should end in June 2012.
The debate frequently touched on the role of the army, with both sides saying they wanted the generals out of politics, but evading the question of whether the military could be trusted.
Taher on his part argued that in Egypt’s political sphere there are conservatives, represented in parties like the Muslim Brotherhood; leftists represented in parties such as Al-Tagammu; nationalists as well as the liberal block.
“Each one will ultimately fall in one of those,” he said, pointing out that this why we should hold off the elections.
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Sebastian addresses Sharafeldin and George.
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