CAIRO, 9 December 2004 — With the entry of two new liberal parties onto Egypt’s political scene, four of the country’s 19 parties are presenting themselves as the champions of free-market economy. The Political Parties Committee of the upper house of Parliament granted legality to El-Destouri El-Igtima’i (Social Constitutional) Party on Nov. 25 a month after approving El-Ghad (Tomorrow Party). The committee had previously given the green light to only two other parties since it was founded in 1977.
Both parties say they are rooted in Egypt’s liberal legacy that stretches back to the nationalist uprisings of 1919. In claiming that heritage, they vie directly with the Waved Party, which emerged directly out of that struggle.
Heads of the new parties vehemently deny that their claims to that legacy pit them in conflict with the Wafd. “Our liberalism is that of Saad [Zaghloul] and [Mustapha] Nahas, which is monopolized by no one,” said Mamdouh Qenawi, head of El-Destouri, referring to the heroes of 1919. Qenawi’s comments, coming just days after his party was approved, echoed similar ones by the president of El-Ghad, Ayman Nour, who had earlier quipped that Zaghloul “isn’t a trademark.”
The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) gives the appearance of increasingly seeking that liberal mantle as its own, most notably in economic policy. Detractors point to the fact that privatization, adopted as policy more than a decade ago, is proceeding in fits and starts, having picked up slightly in the past two years after coming to a virtual standstill ahead of the millennium.
However, the appointment of three staunchly pro-free market ministers to the Cabinet in July, followed by extensive reductions to customs duties in September, has been cited as indicating a new resolve for economic liberalization.
When it comes to political life, the new parties join critics of the NDP in calling for greater freedom, including an end to martial law, in place since the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981.
El-Ghad claims a larger following, with some 5,000 founding members to El-Destouri’s approximately 200. As well, El-Ghad held internal elections during the month since its birth to select its leadership, while El-Destouri is planning those contests in two years time.
At a time when voices across the political spectrum are calling for political and constitutional reform, observers predict that additional parties will be approved ahead of the presidential referendum scheduled for October 2005 and parliamentary elections the following month.
