JEDDAH, 27 February 2005 — Egyptians working in Saudi Arabia have welcomed President Hosni Mubarak’s decision to allow multicandidate presidential elections. Speaking to Arab News, they expressed hope that the decision would bring about a new era of democracy in the country.
“This is an excellent decision,” said Shaker Abdul Aziz, a journalist working for Al-Bilad Arabic daily in the Kingdom for the past 28 years.
“It comes in tune with the spirit of changes and developments around the world,” he said. “The future is now for democratic systems,” he added.
Abdul Aziz, who also works as the correspondent of Egypt’s Akhbar Al-Yaum daily in the Kingdom, said Mubarak’s decision would usher in a new era of democracy in the country.
Taha Kasba, in charge of special publications at Okaz daily, called the decision a step in the right direction. He hoped that the government would take more such steps in the future to promote democratic reforms. Kasba said the decision would contribute toward ending the conflict between the government and opposition parties and strengthening national unity.
In a surprise announcement, Mubarak said yesterday that he had asked Parliament to amend the constitution to allow direct presidential elections in which anyone can stand and all citizens can vote by secret ballot.
Mubarak himself hailed the decision as a historic move signaling a new era of political reform. “I took this initiative to open a new era of reform,” said Mubarak who has ruled Egypt since his predecessor Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981.
Ashraf Ameen, who works for a large business group, said the decision came very late. He was not sure whether the decision would have any major impact on the next presidential elections set for September.
He said amendments to the constitution should specify the maximum number of terms a person could hold the post of president. “It should not exceed more than two terms as in other democratic countries,” he added.
Dr. Ahmed Darwish, an ENT specialist at Al-Maghrebi Hospital in Jeddah, hoped that the new constitutional amendments would allow all citizens to contest elections without restrictions as long as he is qualified. “The decision will change the picture of Egypt in the West,” he said.
Hassan Al-Arabi, a media consultant, said the constitutional amendment would boost political and economic development of the country.
Another Egyptian, who has been working in Saudi Arabia for the last 20 years and does not want to be identified, called for abrogating the emergency law that was imposed in 1981. Such laws, he said, restrict freedom and go against democratic principles.
“The offer is too little and too late,” Ibrahim Shaker, an Egyptian manager in an electronics company in Jeddah, said.
— Additional input from K.S. Ramkumar in Jeddah and M. Ghazanfar Ali Khan in Riyadh
