Doaa El-Bey writes the obituary of Egypt's ruling party The verdict issued by the Supreme Administrative Court to dissolve the National Democratic Party (NDP) which ruled Egypt unilaterally for more than three decades was hailed this week. Al-Masry Al-Youm had in its headline, 'Muslim Brotherhood and other parties welcome verdict; Western media describe it as a blow to Mubarak supporters'. Nahdet Masr wrote, 'Popular welcome to dissolving the NDP, and Al-Wafd bannered, 'Dissolving NDP is new step towards purging political life'. Mohamed Mustafa Sherdi congratulated the people of Egypt for the dissolution of the NDP which he dubbed "the nightmare". Sherdi regarded the verdict to dissolve the NDP as an end to the party that spoiled political life in Egypt. It was not issued against persons or buildings, but against an ailing case that had spread everywhere in Egypt with its political opportunism, dictatorship, favouritism and totalitarian thinking, he wrote. Even those who tried to reform the party, he added, like Talaat El-Sadat, knew that the people reject and in fact hate the party. Thus changing the name of the party would not have worked. The NDP, Sherdi explained, took part in rigging all the elections that were held in Egypt especially that of 2010 and completely destroyed democracy and political life in Egypt. "Egypt needed to bow to the demands of the 25 January Revolution and dissolve the NDP which was a black spot in the lives of all Egyptians for the last 35 years," Sherdi wrote in the daily Al-Wafd, the mouthpiece of the opposition Wafd Party. However, he warned about labelling all the previous members of the NDP as corrupt. "One should know the difference between the leading figures that were involved either directly or indirectly in crimes and the other members who have the right to practise their political rights in joining established political parties or founding new ones." Hassan Nafaa wrote that the verdict made him and a million other Egyptians happy. He regarded the verdict as fair and logical. "The NDP was established by a decision by the president when he was in power. It became a tool for spoiling political life from day one and because it took most of its real estate and financial resources from the state's resources. "The verdict proved that a new chapter in Egypt's partisan and political life has started... the judicial authority has become a basic and direct party in protecting the rights of the people, and in correcting any mistakes that the executive authority would make in the future," Nafaa wrote in the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm. Newspapers followed the trial of the deposed president Hosni Mubarak, his sons and the leading figures of the previous regime. Al-Ahram wrote, 'Prosecutor-general starts questioning Alaa, Gamal and Mubarak in Tora Prison' . Al-Akhbar : 'Mubarak is scared of the spectre of Tora' and from Al-Wafd : 'Capital punishment awaiting Mubarak, Gamal and El-Adli'. Mohamed El-Shabba praised the 25 January Revolution as the first revolution that did not kill or banish the country's former rulers. "It is trying them by law, allowing them to hire lawyers, detaining them in air conditioned cells that has newspapers and plasma TV sets. It is the first revolution that has led to the imprisonment of the president, his sons -- and possibly his wife -- together with all his entourage in one prison that has become one of the most famous prisons worldwide," El-Shabba said. "Although it did not bring a president with it, the revolution controls decision-making. It toppled [Ahmed] Shafik's government, sacked media men and governors and brought acceptable officials in many posts. The present prime minister said that he gets his legitimacy from Tahrir Square," he wrote in the independent daily Nahdet Masr. However, Anis Mansour seemed to think differently. He suggested that we leave justice to do its job and focus on what is more pressing and dangerous: our future. For the first time in Egypt, Mansour wrote, many voices are calling for quick solutions to chronic problems and looking for a magician government that can miraculously resolve all the problems, he wrote in the official daily Al-Ahram. The change of governors a few days ago was met with different reactions. Mohamed Ali Kheir noted that although there were high hopes that our country would change after the revolution, the new governors were selected in the same way their predecessors were selected under Hosni Mubarak's rule. "Why were public personalities, who are popular and respectable in their governorates, not selected as new governors?" Kheir asked in the official daily Al-Akhbar. He also wondered why the new governors are all above 60 years of age, which means that they are above retirement age. Sixty-five per cent of the people of Egypt are below 35, and the 25 January Revolution was led by youth. "Still, they are governed by elderly governors and government." Talaat El-Maghrabi focussed on the Qena governor whose choice was met by popular objection. El-Maghrabi wrote that Qena is passing through an exceptional phase in its history because demonstrations overwhelmed the city in protest at the new governor. Demonstrators are adamant over replacing the newly appointed governor Emad Mikhail. The writer pointed to a few facts about Qena: it is not an experimental governorate in which a Christian governor is selected to deliver a message to the West; and there are no discrimination between Muslim and Copts. He asked how a decision was taken to appoint a Coptic governor after the utter failure of the previous Coptic governor who took Qena years backward. "The choice of governors should be on the basis of professional efficiency and not to make a balance between Muslim and Copts," El-Maghrabi wrote in Al-Wafd. Second, why should an ex-police general become governor of Qena, El-Maghrabi wondered. "It was a norm before the 25 January Revolution that retired police generals were appointed governors of internal governorates. The revolution should have changed that; we are in need of technocrat governors capable of living up to the post-revolution phase."
