CAIRO: Amid heated competition between Islamist and liberal forces over parliamentary seats in elections scheduled for November, Upper Egypt continues to be the country’s neglected governorate.
The race in Upper Egypt is somewhat different, with struggling new political parties, unpopular Islamist forces, a newly born revolutionary youth bloc, remnants of the dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP), all confronting one main challenge: Tribalism.
"All these forces are hardly competing to win seats in parliament, but all are still controlled by tribalism, in a society where disobeying the tribe is a disgrace," Assistant Professor of History at the American University in Cairo Zeinab Aboul Magd told Daily News Egypt.
“Every force is trying to make its way through the tribal system that used to and continues to be primarily controlled by the dissolved NDP, the old regime’s most abhorrent legacy in Egypt," said the Upper Egyptian professor.
NDP and tribalism
For a tribe, having a member in parliament means more power, prestige and control. Upper Egyptians regard the MP as a person devoted to serve only the members of the tribe through access to ministers and high ranking officials in the state who can circumvent government bureaucracy and provide employment opportunities.
Over the years, the NDP allied with the tribal system by choosing candidates belonging to these tribes to join the party.
The party in return facilitates land and gun ownership in Upper Egypt, forming a corrupt network of businessmen.
Coordinator of Al-Karama Party in Qena Ahmed El-Badry told DNE that he anticipates “blood baths” in the upcoming elections.
"The remnants of the NDP, most of whom are heads of big tribes, are heavily armed, and are intent on doing whatever it takes to secure their wealth and power, part of which is being an MP," El-Badry explained.
El-Badry said that NDP members relied on armed militias and bribery to force people to vote for them, in addition to votes by their tribesmen.
"Activating the treachery act was important to face the regeneration of the previous regime, but with the elections coming in November, this idea seems to be far from being achieved," former independent MP in Qena Laila Khalifa told DNE.
"Former NDP candidates are preparing their sons to contest the elections as a plan B if the treachery act is activated, but this is going to stir many conflicts inside the families over whether the sons or the brothers of the former NDP candidates will run, which will eventually botch this plan," Khalifa said.
Khalifa, who contested the 2010 elections as part of the women’s quota in Deshna constituency, fiercely fought against female NDP candidates and won the elections through support from her community.
"Contesting the elections now will be harder for me as a woman, specifically after cancelling the women’s quota, which means I have to compete against other men from my tribe, so whoever voted for me in the last elections will not be that enthusiastic about voting for me again," Khalifa, who refused to join NDP lists in the 2010 elections, explained.
Ahmed El-Sayed, member of the Luxor Youth Coalition, told DNE that money and power in Upper Egypt are deeply embedded in the tribal system.
"Old members of the NDP continue to be strong opponents, if not the strongest, with all the money, power, arms and tribal relations they possess," El-Sayed explained.
The Islamist -liberal debate
The debate between liberal and Islamist forces over the nature of the state, constitution, and supra-constitutional binding articles is irrelevant in Upper Egypt, where tribalism controls the political choices of citizens.
"All parties are struggling to fit into the tribal system, because political affiliations in Upper Egypt are not appealing in the face of tribalism’s iron fist," El-Badry said.
"Time and finances are not on our side, our enemies [NDP candidates] are talking money and arms and we are talking politics and awareness," El-Badry explained.
Aboul Magd said that political parties, whether Islamist or secular, are trying to fit in the tribal system even if it will mean attracting former members of the NDP.
"It is not about the secular state, it is not about political affiliations, it is all about political pragmatism to secure seats in the upcoming parliament," Aboul Magd said.
"New parties opened offices in Upper Egyptian governorates. These include El-Adl, the Free Egyptians Party, Al-Karama, the Democratic Front, and of course the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party whose organizational and financial capacities enable it to reach more Upper Egyptians," Aboul Magd added.
However, Khalifa said that services offered by the MB to Upper Egyptians will not necessarily change Upper Egyptians’ negative attitudes towards Islamists in general.
For a long time Islamists were not welcome in the Upper Egyptian tribal community whose strict principles, including family ties and patriarchy, contradict with some strains of Islamist thought.
"But Islamists are trying to reach out to people through providing services, in addition to the religious message they preach," El-Sayed said, adding that Islamists could be the most appealing among political parties.
New powers emerging
El-Badry said that a new and wealthy political class with strong tribal relations that was previously excluded by the NDP is likely to emerge on the political scene.
"The NDP created a strong network in the tribes with armed groups; those powers have opponents who were excluded from the game," El-Badry said.
"They will try to counter the influence of the NDP candidates to take their share," El-Badry added.
El-Sayed described the potentially new players as businessmen who aspire for more political clout.
"They are influential with the money but they long for political influence," he said.
Worst case scenarios
"The future does not seem to be very promising like what happened in the referendum when we felt a strong sense of awareness, in addition to the security provided by the army back then," El-Badry said.
He believes that security seems to be deliberately waning.
“The fight is fiercer to win more seats in parliament where remnants of the NDP with armed militias [will do anything] to protect their existence," El-Badry said.
The revolutionary bloc, primarily formed by youth coalitions who adopt the revolution’s agenda, are struggling to face the tribal system and NDP plans, Aboul Magd said.
"Upper Egypt Youth Coalitions, formed by youth who were politically apathetic before the revolution, are trying to keep the revolutionary momentum alive by organizing marches in tandem with Tahrir Square protests, and trying to support candidates who adopt the revolution’s agenda and expose the corruption of those involved with the NDP," Aboul Magd explained.
El-Badry said that the revolutionary bloc is still in its formative phase; their success is directly linked to bringing security back in action to protect constituencies and to face NDP militias, and modifying the elections law to avoid possible fraud by former NDP candidates.
El-Sayed said that the revolutionary bloc is primarily focusing on creating political awareness, an aim which unified all Upper Egyptian youth coalitions.
"Revolutionaries are too young to contest the elections, they lack the experience and political maturity," El-Sayed added.
El-Sayed also complained that the lack of financial support adds a lot to the problem.
"Tribalism is in control, the revolutionary bloc is still very weak in the face of tribalism, political parties are trying to fit into the system; the NDP is ready with arms and money, and the future is horribly vague," Khalifa concluded.
