As the Wafd Party abandons a boycott to field a presidential candidate, Fatemah Farag examines its motives One of the more peculiar features of the first ever Egyptian presidential elections is that the National Democratic Party is apparently working hard to coax and/or pressure the opposition into putting up candidates against its own nominee, the incumbent, President Hosni Mubarak. In the words of Rifaat El-Said, leader of the leftist Tagammu Party, "as the day approaches the promises designed to tempt us into the minefield multiply... promises of half a million pounds to those who nominate themselves... [A]nd promises of wider political vistas, more democracy and greater freedom." Until last week the three major parties -- the Tagammu, the Nasserists and the liberal Wafd -- had been united in their refusal to take part in the elections. But on Monday Noaman Gomaa, secretary-general of the Wafd, broke ranks and announced he intended to present his nomination papers to the Presidential Elections Committee within a couple of days. According to Abdel-Fatah Nosseir, a senior party member, "it is inconceivable for the oldest and largest party in Egypt to leave the presidential elections to the small parties." One possible explanation for the Wafd's U-turn is that Gomaa hopes to capture the protest vote from his nemesis, Ghad Party leader and Wafd defector Ayman Nour. And there are growing rumours of a deal with the government following revelations this week that the NDP has offered to release a number of Muslim Brotherhood leaders in return for their supporting Mubarak. In May the Wafd joined the Tagammu and Nasserists in calling for a boycott of the 25 May referendum on the amendment of Article 76 of the constitution in protest at what they said were impossible restrictions placed on candidacy. Under the amendment nominees were required to obtain the backing of at least 250 elected members of the People's Assembly, Shura Council and/or municipal councils, though legal parties were exempted for this condition for the forthcoming elections. As far as the three main opposition parties were concerned the restrictions effectively drained the amendment of any real content. The three parties also withdrew from the national dialogue, suggesting a major rift between the main opposition parties and the NDP. "The restrictions applied to the electoral process in practice convert it into a referendum to re-instate the current president though it is disguised as an election," explains Hussein Abdel-Razeq, secretary-general of the Tagammu. The regime, he pointed out, has a long history of rigging elections and referendums. "Under no circumstances can our party participate in deceiving the public and acting as if these elections will be fair, honest and democratic." Initially the Tagammu entertained the possibility of nominating its former president Khaled Mohieddin, a one-time member of the Revolutionary Command Council, as its candidate. "At the time we specified that such a move would be possible only if the government took concrete action towards guaranteeing a democratic process," insisted Abdel-Razeq. In mooting the possibility of Mohieddin as a candidate the Tagammu also called on the government to annul the emergency laws, release political detainees, re-try all those sentenced by military courts and restrict the number of terms the president may serve to two. It also called on the government to abandon its monopoly of radio, television and national papers and allow political parties to expand their activities beyond the confines of their premises and onto the street. "None of these requests were even considered. On the contrary, the final version of the amended Article 76 was an ominous sign of what was to come." The Nasserists are equally adamant that they will stick by the boycott, having finally decided not to field a candidate last week. "Entering the elections against Mubarak is not a great honour," quipped party secretary-general Diaaeddin Dawoud at the meeting held to discuss the party's position on the elections. Those who support the boycott insist that the elections are little more than a farce. "I wonder if any party will be able to present its manifesto in the 19 days allowed for campaigning. Even if these parties had fleets of planes no nominee would be capable of reaching people across the nation," says Dawoud, while Abdel-Razeq points out that television, radio and all the national papers ran President Mubarak's nomination speech and programme in detail several days before the 19 days officially allowed for the campaign had even begun. According to Nosseir the issue is not whether the process is sufficiently democratic or fair. "The Wafd continues to oppose Article 76, as amended, but that is not the issue. And it does not matter that there are no assurances [of a democratic and fair process]. What matters is that a party of our weight must be represented in these elections." According to reports of the meeting that made the decision to nominate Gomaa, 30 members supported the move while 10 opposed, including Gomaa himself. Immediately afterwards, though, in statements to the press, Gomaa said he could win the elections. That the Wafd leader should have voted against being a candidate in an election he claims to believe he can win suggests a certain theatricality to the whole exercise. Gomaa's decision to nominate himself was met with a cool response from the Tagammu and Nasserist parties. Abdel-Razeq pointed out that no official position had been adopted regarding nomination in the elections during the recent meeting between party heads, and it remains as yet unclear whether or not the two parties boycotting will encourage their constituencies to vote for Gomaa.
