CAIRO: Egyptians will queue to cast their vote on Nov. 28 in the first parliamentary elections after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, but many disagree over the role a Member of Parliament (MP) is expected to play.
The elected parliament is vital since it will be tasked with choosing the members of the constituent assembly that will draft the country’s new constitution.
But Egyptians, who under the Mubarak regime were apathetic to elections, are divided on what to look for in their MP of choice. Aspirations and criteria for selections vary from fulfilling a broader political and legislative role to a more personalized constituency-based function.
While some think MPs should be service providers for constituency residents, others insist that their main role should be to scrutinize and monitor the government and draft legislation.
"We need someone to truly represent us and make our voices heard by officials," said Galal Hussien, owner of a small grocery shop round the corner of Khlousy Street, Shubra, adding that nowadays people cannot easily meet officials to file complaints.
The 45-year-old grocer said an MP should first provide services to the people of his constituency and then monitor the government if required.
A link between addressing the immediate grievances through the MP’s broader political role is sometimes implied, even among those who believe an MP should only focus on providing services to the public.
"There are many services that need improvement and promises that require fulfillment: improving salaries, health, education, specifying proper working hours and many other problems," said Amal Ibrahim, administrative employee from Shubra.
Those issues, she continued, are fundamental to people. "They should leave monitoring the government to us and try to provide us with at least 30 percent of our basic needs; we are not asking for much," she added.
These 30 percent would be enough to survive this stage, she argued, urging others not to avoid wishful thinking. "Each stage will be better than the previous one by working with what suits each phase," she added.
Ne’ma Hassan, a government employee from Dar El-Salam, a mainly impoverished overpopulated district, said an MP should serve the interests of the public that was previously neglected by former parliamentarians.
Broader role
Younger people interviewed for this report were more supportive of the political nature of the MP’s job description. While 23-year-old Samaa said an MP should provide public services, such as improving health and education, her colleagues had higher hopes.
Sitting next to her on the metro, Rania, a fellow teaching assistant, was listening to a radio program discussing the new electoral system, explaining that "an MP should first monitor the government to ban corruption; that’s what we have been studying as the major role of the parliament."
Eman, also a teaching assistant who like her friends declined to give her last name, agreed with Rania that providing services should come second on MPs’ list of duties.
"But to serve the people, they should have the ability and the potential to do that," she added.
Videos prepared by the Supreme Electoral Commission and other initiatives stress the legislative role of the MP. Providing services to people should not overshadow the two main functions of parliamentarians: monitoring the government’s performance and drafting new laws, according to one official video.
Videos with such messages urge people to choose between candidates accordingly, while noting that providing immediate services and addressing personal grievances is a function of members of municipal councils.
Amira Abdel-Salam, who lives in Al-Al’a (citadel) district, said that it is true that people used to expect services from MPs, but now they started to understand the inevitability of its legislative chore.
"After the revolution, we started to understand that the major role of the parliament is to enact laws, approve the general policy of the state and monitor the government," she added.
Medhat Samir, a fruit merchant in his 40s, said an MP should put both monitoring the government and serving people as priorities.
"To vote for someone, I need to feel that he’ll serve the country and look after the poor," he said.
Enacting laws, followed by endowing general services to the country and then providing services to constituents was the order in which Mona Meshreqy, a doctor in the public health insurance system, listed as priorities for MPs.
Meshreqy, a Nasr City resident, stressed that as part of the new experiment of the elections people should accept the trial and error concept,but should also change their perspective of the role of the Lower House of Parliament to move forward.
Personal note
Getting personal in evaluating parliamentary candidates is inevitable for many who want to see the impact of state policies on their daily lives. Citizens desperate for a venue to channel their grievances and get their voices heard have only their local MP to look to.
We need to find them at times of crises, Hussien said
"Before the revolution, those who succeeded in entering the People’s Assembly sold us and used to serve thugs and drug dealers. We never found them when needed," he said pointing to his old small truck that he bought from the youth project that was run by the former regime to supposedly help unemployed youth.
He said that he tried to meet a former MP few years ago but failed. "I am not a beggar," he said bitterly, "I wanted him to help me drop the interests on the installments of the car but he refused to meet me."
"An MP should be available for communication with members of his constituency; even if he didn’t solve their pending issues, communication would relieve them psychologically," Meshreqy said.
