By Salama A Salama As political parties name the candidates selected to contest the People's Assembly elections the country is moving into a new phase, one in which an increase in vitality is coupled with a sense of foreboding. Many still lack faith in the government's commitment to fairness and neutrality. If the past is anything to go by, they cannot be blamed. Much will hinge on the government fulfilling its pledges to ensure the elections are free and fair. This, in turn, will depend on the legal supervision and strict monitoring of the poll. The government must refrain from interfering in the process of the campaign and instruct officials, at all levels, to refrain from voicing support for National Democratic Party candidates or placing obstacles in the path of other parties. Regardless of the outcome of the elections the National Democratic Party will be judged on the fairness -- or otherwise -- of the poll. We can only hope that government pledges do not evaporate in the heat of the battle. Ten opposition groups have joined beneath the umbrella of the National Front for Change (NFC). This is a positive move. The NFC will be presenting voters with a common list of candidates, and campaigning on a joint programme. The formation of the NFC has lent credibility to the opposition and may even catapult the country into a new democratic era that could end the monopolising of power by a single party. This is not to say that the NFC and NDP don't have a number of problems in common. Each must navigate a path through a tangled web of interests. Each must chart a course through the morass of pay-offs, nepotism and inherited privilege. Unlike long- standing Western democracies the NDP, as the ruling party, cannot claim any independent political legitimacy. It cannot claim to be moved by democratic principles. It cannot claim to be inspired by any political or social vision. This is why the NDP press sounds so silly when it claims the NFC is weak and likely to fall apart at any time. And here is the true test for the NFC -- it needs to survive the ill will of the ruling party. It needs to stick together during and after the elections. This, in turn, means it must avoid quarrels with the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). It is clear that the ruling party is using the tactic of divide- and-rule. The NDP clearly feels threatened by the MB, which is fielding 170 candidates and can mobilise votes for and against any given candidate. The NDP, in an act of amazing single-mindedness, is fielding candidates in all constituencies. It might have made a gesture to other parties by leaving them a constituency or two but such a thought did not cross the mind of NDP strategists. As things stand the NDP is running against all other political forces combined, which displays a certain amount of arrogance. Disputes surfaced within the NDP when it ditched some senior members for new nominees. The rejected candidates broke away to run as independents. This will weaken the performance of the NDP and may result in a last minute compromise, as happened in 2000. For a while at least, expect to see the NDP going through its usual dilemma as it wonders whether to expel the dissidents or welcome them back to the fold. To make things worse the NDP is fielding as candidates officials who have been tainted by serious charges. If anything, this is a victory for the old guard. Also, and against all expectations, the NDP has failed to field adequate numbers of women or Copts. The battle is on and is likely to become more heated, especially if President Hosni Mubarak becomes personally involved in the campaign. The government is seen as biased towards the NDP and must prove to the opposition that it is not. The government needs to defuse, not poison, the political atmosphere.
