With the electoral war over, writers ruminate over the spoils, writes Fatemah Farag While Al-Masri Al-Yom 's banner on 7 December announced a "ceasefire" indicating the end of what everyone has described as the bloodiest parliamentary elections in Egyptian history, other battles were just starting to gain momentum. For example, Abdel-Qader Shohayeb in Al-Musawwar magazine took to task the National Democratic Party's secretary over the membership of Ahmed Ezz who commissioned a poll, despite the doubts voiced by "other" party secretaries, the results of which were grounds for choosing the majority of its candidates in the parliamentary elections. "The results of the elections came to prove that these doubts expressed by party secretaries were correct," says Shohayeb who goes on to conclude, "what is more important is that [this mistake] will negatively affect those who were enthusiastic about the poll... and will weaken the influence of their suggestions regarding the management of government and perhaps its priorities as well." Shohayeb also voices the criticism made by some ruling party members that Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif's government did not support NDP candidates, something which weakened their position. "But most probably the Nazif government thinks that no voice is higher than the voice of economic reform," a grave mistake according to Shohayeb considering the level of unemployment and other social problems in Egypt today. "This [the lack of understanding of the importance of the social dimension] will have its effect on the [upcoming] change of cabinet and will promote the interests of those who believe in the importance of the social dimension and are most concerned with alleviating the pressure of economic reform." The future of the new parliament and subsequent government also captured the concern of many in the press this week. In his discussion of whether or not the ruling party should take back those ex- members who defected from the party after not making their candidacy list and who ran as independents -- and won -- Ibrahim Seada in Al-Akhbar on 8 December says, "the NDP does not need to take in the defectors who won. The party has achieved a comfortable majority... [A]nd to achieve the democratic form that we all wish for the new parliament, after the representation of [civic] parties has sunk to its lowest and the sudden -- more like a shock -- rise of the 'Brotherhood', I believe that the best form of parliament is for it to be made up of a comfortable majority of the NDP, a strong ikhwan (Brotherhood) opposition and a weak representation of other parties, in addition to dozens of seats won by independents who ran their campaigns in accordance with NDP principles." But as far as Ibrahim Eissa in Al-Destour is concerned they -- the ruling party -- can have their majority. Because at the end of the day, "[T]he worst things, the politically criminal acts undertaken by the NDP -- forgery, lies, violence, threatening people and keeping voters from reaching their ballot boxes -- uncover the profound failure of the party. It is a failure for the second time after the elections led by the old guard in 2000. It is profound because it is happening in 2005 and this time by the new guard." According to Eissa, "the main aim of this heated race by both the old and new guard of the NDP to acquire two-thirds of the seats in parliament is to release the hand of the president and those who represent him in making deals and agreements that no one can dare question, discuss or know about." But after all has been said and done the question remains: what next? In Sawt Al-Umma, Wael El-Ibrashi says, "the question that should concern people now is: what are we going to do in the face of the insistence of the NDP to hold on to power for life? What are we going to do as long as the ballot boxes do not result in change?" El-Ibrashi suggested a peaceful popular democratic uprising. In Al-Arabi Sherif Hetata says that now that all the cards are on the table, "the time has come to overcome the differences between the democratic, leftist and enlightened forces in order to confront the dangers of the future." And in Al-Masri Al-Yom on 10 December Magdi El-Gallad said that now that all parties have been elected perhaps the real winner "is a party that has not yet been born but is on its way. A party that brings together all of the independents that refused the existing parties. A party that can absorb the anger against the government and popular refusal of the ruling party. A party that has a national vision for reform and an enlightened political programme... The time is ripe for the birth of that party."
