Now, writes Ibrahim Nafie, it is time to abandon talk of boycotts and prepare for elections The political arena is rife with controversy over the issue of reform, especially following the referendum over the amendment of Article 76 of the constitution, which was passed by a large majority. While some are still talking about the substance of the amendment or about the events of polling day others are urging us to focus on the next step and ready ourselves for the first direct multi-candidate presidential elections in the history of Egypt. Over the past week it appears that this more sensible trend has gained the upper hand. Commentators and politicians who have set their sights on the future now outnumber those who insist on dwelling on the past. This, I believe, is indicative of a qualitative shift in the debate on reform. People are increasingly aware of how important it is to contribute their ideas in a constructive spirit, free of demagoguery and negativism. Egypt, as I have said before, is pursuing comprehensive political, economic and social reform. In order to sustain the process all political parties, including the NDP, should take advantage of the current opportunities to present to the public their visions of reform. Simultaneously, they should bear in mind that the amendment of Article 76 was only the beginning. Other amendments of constitutional articles and laws governing important aspects of our political life are in the offing, perhaps before parliamentary elections in November. What will be the precise substance of these amendments? When will they take place and in what order? Such questions, I believe, should be directed to the political parties, whose immediate task it should be to draw up their platforms and manifestos. I cannot stress enough how important it will be in this phase for political parties and their candidates to eschew their usual reliance on hollow slogans and instead to draw up clear, concrete, cohesive programmes that they can defend through reasoned argument in the course of the election campaign. During its tour of Latin American countries in March the Al-Ahram team had the opportunity to see first hand how the platforms presented to Latin American voters during electoral campaigns were translated into action on the ground. In Latin America realistic programmes were drawn up, along with a time frame for their implementation. The Venezuelan vice-president, for example, explained to us the various phases of his country's literacy programme, which had met its targets so successfully that he was able to state with complete confidence that Venezuela would be free of illiteracy by May 2005. Similarly, Brazil's President Lula da Silva and Chile's President Ricardo Lagos outlined the specific mechanisms, target phases and achievement projections of their countries' programmes for fighting poverty and hunger, improving public healthcare and providing housing for the poor. It goes without saying that such projects would have had no hope of success if their architects had not been realistic and thoroughly in control of the facts and figures. Venezuela's literacy programme, for example, was based on a thorough study the demographics of the phenomenon. Target groups were set, in terms of age, sex, geographical region and occupation. It was then necessary to determine precisely what resources were available and the optimum means to use these resources. On the basis of these findings it was possible to design an ambitious programme capable of rooting out illiteracy and that involved the private sector in working towards the desired end. We in Egypt must adopt a similar down- to-earth, no-nonsense approach to our problems. The Egyptian people do not want to hear idle promises, and are fed up with empty slogans. What they want is progress. Certainly, the current government, led by Ahmed Nazif, has been guided by this principle, which is why the average citizen has already begun to feel the benefits of the economic reforms it has introduced. Our first multi-candidate presidential elections are less than four months away and we are duty bound to rise to the occasion. In these elections nomination provisions will not apply, which means that legal parties have the opportunity to put forward the candidate they believe stands the best chance to win. They should take advantage of this opportunity and begin as of now to devise the platforms that their candidates will present to the public. Egypt needs to make the transition to a new phase of national action in which all our political parties will be expected to act as political parties should in pluralistic democratic systems. This entails relinquishing the "boycott" approach and, instead, interacting constructively with the process of reform, for ultimately this latter approach is the best guarantee we have of a vital political process. There is no denying there were many shortcomings in the way the referendum issue was handled, upon which basis some of the major parties called for a boycott of the referendum. Now, though, it is time to take into account the positive aspects of the referendum, the most important of which is the possibility it opens for candidates to play an effective role in developing a model of comprehensive reform. The success of our efforts to devise a thoroughly Egyptian model for reform will depend to a large extent on the ability of our political parties to mould themselves into dynamic grassroots forces, thereby stimulating broader public participation in the political process. Our hope, therefore, is that they rise to the unprecedented challenge, prepare themselves thoroughly for the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, and then campaign vigorously on the basis of manifestos that address our needs and concerns in a forward- looking, national-minded spirit.
