Although Egypt's parliamentary elections are still scheduled to be held next October or November or even after that, political forces have begun preparing for the polls in earnest. No sooner had the country's newly-elected president Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi taken the official oath of office on 8 June than some of the country's highest-profile figures had begun seeking to forge political alliances in preparation for the polls. The first week of consultations shows that three distinct forces are expected to compete for the country's new parliament: the leftists, the Islamists and a national alliance close to Egypt's president Al-Sisi. On 7 June, or just one day before Al-Sisi was sworn in as the country's new president, Amr Moussa, Egypt's former foreign minister and chairman of the 50-member committee which drafted the new constitution last January, took all by surprise when he disclosed that he and different political forces had been in consultations over the upcoming parliamentary elections. “As the new constitution states that procedures for the parliamentary polls must begin ahead of 18 July, and as the new House of Representatives law has finally been issued, all political forces must begin seriously preparing for the polls,” Moussa said in an official statement. Moussa argued that “state institutions must also gear up for the polls, especially after the first two parts of the post-30 June political roadmap — the promulgation of a new constitution and the election of a new president — have been successfully implemented.” Moussa said he and other political forces were reaching a consensus over a number of issues ahead of the polls: fielding lists of candidates, respect for the new constitution, and implementation of its articles in the form of consulting with Al-Sisi on amending existing laws on human rights and freedoms. Moussa indicated that the proposed alliance was not intended as a “back-up” for Al-Sisi in the coming parliament. “It is not an attempt to lay the basis for a new political party loyal to Al-Sisi in the new parliament as was the case in the past, but it will be a back-up for Egypt, helping the newly-elected president to move forward and implement the reforms required by the new constitution in coordination with all the political forces,” Moussa said. Moussa argued that “it is not in the interests of the country to have a president in disagreement with the parliament or with the post-elections new prime minister, because this could foster instability and chaos. This is the last thing we want for Egypt, and so we need all forces, irrespective of their political affiliations, to coordinate for the supreme national interests of the country,” Moussa said. Informed sources have indicated that on 29 May, or just one day after the presidential polls were held on 26-28 May, Moussa met with former chief of intelligence Murad Mowafi, former interior minister Ahmed Gamaleddin, and leading member of the Kifaya Movement Abdel-Gelil Mustafa. On the first and second of June, Moussa met with leading figures from other political forces, including Chairman of the liberal Al-Wafd Party Al-Sayed Al-Badawi, Chairman of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party Mohamed Abul-Ghar, Chairman of the Free Egyptians Party Ahmed Said, and Chairman of the leftist Tagammu Party Sayed Abdel-Al. In these meetings, sources said, Abul-Ghar had rejected any kind of coordination with what he called “the symbols of the defunct regime of [ousted former president] Hosni Mubarak.” Abul-Ghar argued that the majority of members of his party would resign if he decided to join hands with symbols of the Mubarak regime. Abul-Ghar's words triggered an immediate critical response from former interior minister Abdel-Ahad Gamaleddin, who is also chairman of the so-called Masr Baladi (Egypt my Homeland) Front that is in coordination with the National Movement Party led by Mubarak's last prime minister and 2012 presidential elections candidate Ahmed Shafik. Gamaleddin stressed that Masr Baladi was not a gathering for Mubarak's former ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and that the objective of Moussa's efforts was to forge a national alliance with all forces and figures that had not been involved in political corruption practices. Mowafi issued a statement on Monday stating that he had decided to withdraw “until all political forces can put their national interests above personal interests.” Al-Wafd and the other four political parties said they had already forged a political alliance in preparation for the polls. According to Amr Al-Chobaki, an Al-Ahram political analyst, Moussa held a meeting with the political forces on 11 June. “On the next day, or 12 June, a four-member committee was formed to set the guidelines for the proposed alliance and forge the criteria which will be adopted in fielding candidates in the parliamentary polls.” Al-Chobaki said the committee would also be in charge of holding consultations over the new House of Representatives law. “There are strong divisions over this law, as some see it as being discriminatory against the political parties, especially the new ones which came into being after the 25 January Revolution,” Al-Chobaki said. In 2012, the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) ordered that the Islamist-dominated parliament be dissolved on the grounds that the election law was discriminatory against independents. “The same could be true about the new law, which is clearly discriminatory but this time against party-based candidates,” Al-Chobaki commented. Before it was finally ratified by outgoing president Adli Mansour on 5 June, the new law was revised by the State Council, which said that all of its 51 articles were in line with the new constitution. The law states that the number of seats in the House of Representatives — Egypt's lower house of parliament — will be 567 instead of the originally proposed 630. It stipulates that 420 seats (75 per cent) will be elected via the individual candidacy system, while 120 seats (20 per cent) will be reserved to party-based candidates. Another five per cent, or 27 seats, will be named by the president. Closely working with Moussa's proposed alliance is the so-called Independence Bloc led by Ahmed Al-Fadali, Chairman of the Democratic Peace Party. This bloc, which includes a dozen low-profile political parties, supports Al-Sisi. Al-Fadali said that the bloc enjoyed the support of Egypt's General Federation of Trade Unions, the Syndicate of Farmers, and war veterans and pensioners. “This is a huge voting force, which will be mobilised to endorse the Bloc's candidates in the coming polls,” Al-Fadali said. Another bloc formed under the title of the Union of Egypt's Parliamentarians has also announced it aims to contest the elections. The union, mainly composed of former NDP deputies, has filed an appeal with Cairo's Urgent Matters Court contesting the constitutionality of a recent judicial ruling which banned NDP officials from standing in any future elections. The court's first hearing on the case will be held on 21 June. Although severely battered by the crushing defeat of the Muslim Brotherhood over the last two years, the Islamists also hope that they will be able to carve out a niche in the new parliament. The Islamists are now primarily led by the ultra-conservative Salafist Al-Nour Party, which has chosen to scrap its partnership with the Muslim Brotherhood and instead join the post-30 June political roadmap. Al-Nour Chairman Younis Makhyoun said that although his party was critical of the new House law, it would not boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections. Makhyoun also said his party was ready to join national political alliances. Al-Chobaki believes that in the light of the new political realities in Egypt, the Islamists will not be able to win 20 per cent of the seats in parliament. He argued that a party with an ultra-conservative and puritan Islamist ideology like Al-Nour might even find it difficult to nominate women or Christians as required by the new House law. Worse, Al-Chobaki added, Al-Nour might face a flood of lawsuits charging it with being a religious party and as a result banning it from political life in accordance with article 74 of the new constitution. A third alliance including anti-Al-Sisi revolutionary movements and political parties is also in the making. The alliance, expected to be led by former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, is mainly composed of the Constitution (Dostour) Party, the Al-Adl (Justice) Party, and the leftist Popular Current and Karama forces. After he lost in the presidential polls last month, Sabahi vowed that he would do his best to form a national political alliance aiming to gain a majority in the upcoming parliament. But pro-Sabahi forces are limited and lacking in political experience, and the hopes of such a national alliance could be dashed. Al-Chobaki said Moussa had made contacts with the Karama and Constitution Parties, but their officials had indicated that they were against any alliance with “symbols” of the former Mubarak regime. The leaders of these political parties also insist that their agenda is different from that of the Islamists and Al-Sisi loyalists, wanting the House law to be amended to make it non-discriminatory against political parties, especially new ones espousing the ideals of the 25 January and 30 June Revolutions.
