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| Volume VIII, June 2001, Number 2 |
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| ABSTRACT: Egypt's 2000 Parliamentary Elections |
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| Mona Makram-Ebeid |
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Dr. Makram-Ebeid, a former member of Parliament, is an
adjunct professor of political science at the American University in Cairo.
Hailed by many as the elections of the millennium,
Egypt's longest parliamentary season ever was held in three stages (for the
first time) from October 18 to November 14, 2000. This year's event, in which
Egyptians voted out some ruling- party stalwarts and the Muslim Brotherhood
scored its largest victory since 1987, marked a distinct improvement over the
flawed 1995 contest. However, the governing elite's desire to control and
manage social forces contrasted with the president's stated commitment to
democracy, with the result that the governing National Democratic party (NDP)
has maintained its dominance of the lower house of parliament, although not as
easily as in the past.
Since the mid-1970s, Egypt's governing system has shifted from
one-party authoritarian rule to limited democratization permitting the
relatively open expression of views on domestic and international issues. Political forces range across a wide
spectrum, from left and liberal to Islamist. Nonetheless, power remains tightly
held by the executive, which utilizes the dominant political party, the
ramified bureaucracy and passive security organs to implement and enforce its
policies.
Egypt's electoral democracy
was based on rules contained in three sets of legal documents: the Constitution
of 1971, the Parties law of 1977 and the Electoral law of 1983. Elements within
the opposition as well as several independent thinkers have made strenuous
efforts since the first elections under Mubarak in 1984 to place the conduct of
the elections under the control of the judiciary rather than the Ministry of
Interior, but the government had until recently refused. However, early in July
2000, Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) issued a ruling requiring
total judiciary supervision of elections. Furthermore, the president issued
directives that elections take place over three consecutive stages. The total
number of candidates was 4,116. Official response to the SCC ruling, which
declared the People's Assemblies elected in 1990 and 1995 invalid due to lack
of judicial supervision, was swift and efficient. An extraordinary
parliamentary session was convened (parliament was on summer recess), and
amendments introduced by a presidential decree were passed, establishing full
judiciary supervision for all future parliamentary elections. In the wake of
parliamentary response, the opposition press heralded the triumph of the rule
of law and praised President Mubarak for working within the constitution.
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