Tactical considerations
Pro-reform movements seek new alliances in an attempt to
push their agendas, reports
Omayma
Abdel-Latif
As the countdown towards the presidential elections begins, pro-
reform activists are struggling to establish a united front. On Monday
the National Coalition for Reform (NCR), an alliance between members of
the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and some leftist groups, held its second
meeting to discuss ways to push forward its agenda for political reform.
The NCR, launched on 30 June, is one of a number of recently formed
coalitions campaigning for an accelerated pace of political reform.
Last Thursday the National Coalition for Democratic Transformation
(NCDT), headed by former Prime Minister Aziz Sidqi and including among
its members a number of former ministers and leading academics, held its
first rally.
Many analysts see the emergence of such groups as an attempt by civil
society forces to break the monopoly of the state and official
opposition parties over the issue of reform.
"Such patterns of political organisation are hardly new in Egypt's
political life," says Hassan Nafaa, professor of politics at Cairo
University. "What is new, though, is the way in which they reflect
popular discontent in a society that is beginning to organise itself
politically away from the traditional parties."
Speakers at the NCDT rally, including Mohamed Mahdi Akef, supreme
guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, George Isaac, spokesperson of the
Egyptian Movement for Change (Kifaya) and Diaaeddin Dawoud, head of the
pan-Arab Nasserist Party, underlined the importance of putting
differences aside in pursuit of a common agenda. They criticised the
media hype surrounding the amendment of Article 76 of the constitution,
with many arguing it serves only to perpetuate the old referendum
formula in a new guise.
In his own speech Sidqi was keen to underline the coalition had no
ambitions to replace any of the existing reform movements. It was
Kifaya, he said, which had played "an inspiring role in breaking the
walls of fear and destroying many of the political taboos that have
strangled political life in the country".
The NCDT was, he continued, willing to coordinate with existing
reform movements to reach a consensus on a common agenda and the
coalition's first communiqué spoke about the "need to coordinate
activities with all political forces".
The NCDT platform clearly echoed that outlined by the NCR during its
June launch when Mohamed Habib, the Muslim Brotherhood's deputy supreme
guide, called on opposition forces to join ranks. His call was well
received by leftist circles, including the Egyptian Communist Party,
revolutionary socialist movements and the banned Labour Party. But while
members from Kifaya, Al-Karama -- the Nasserist-leaning party headed by
MP Hamdeen Sabahi, Al-Ghad and Al-Wafd participated in the series of
workshops that preceded the formation of the NCR, they quickly distanced
themselves from the grouping when it went public.
This should not lead to an underestimation of the significance of the
NCR, argue some observers, since it is, as Amr El-Chobaki, a researcher
at Al-Ahram Centre for Strategic and Political Studies, points out, the
first time in two decades that the Muslim Brotherhood has abandoned its
slogan "Islam is the solution" in favour of the nitty-gritty details of
reform.
"The alliance," believes El-Chobaki, "reflects an attempt by the
Brotherhood to break out of the political isolation imposed on it by the
state and the Egyptian opposition and to engage seriously with political
reform."
The agendas of the NCDT and the NCR converge on several points, most
notably the need to speed up the process of democratic transformation.
But while the NCDT focusses on the importance of combating corruption
and insists preparations for the forthcoming parliamentary elections
will be the real test of the ability of civil society to push its reform
agenda, the NCR offered more detailed demands that it wants the regime
to address. Both alliances advocate a boycott of the presidential
elections.
For many involved in the coalitions the forming of such alliances is
a step along the road towards establishing a united front. To that end
they aim to expand their activities, organising public rallies and other
protest activities. Their first move in this direction, though, was
quickly preempted by the state. According to sources within the NCR
senior security officials met with Muslim Brotherhood members and warned
them of "grave consequences" should they go ahead with a demonstration
in solidarity with Egyptian judges planned for 20 July in front of Abdin
Palace. "They have been told," said one source, "to change the venue --
Abdin Palace -- or else face dire consequences."
The pro-reform coalitions, many observers agree, are seeking to
capitalise on several factors, not least a growing perception that the
public increasingly understands the need for internal change and a
smooth transition from authoritarian to more democratic rule. The lack
of any clearly articulated vision, on the part of both the NDP and
official opposition parties, on how to steer that transformation, and
increasing pressure from the United States and EU on Egypt to take a
regional lead in democratisation, are also informing the tactics of the
coalitions.
But the newly emerging alliances come with a history of friction and
ideological disputes. The most difficult challenge facing such groups,
argues Nafaa, are a result of "Egyptian civil society's lack of
democratic traditions".
"The elite," he says, "remain incapable of doing collective work and
this is a fundamental weakness."
Nor, in the absence of any credible leadership, are such groupings
likely to attract the popular support they need. "Decades of political
stagnation have put Egyptians off politics and only an honest and
credible politician will inspire the masses to once again enter the
political fray."
