The presence of Ayman Nour, discussions of constitutional amendments and the People's Assembly law spiced up the third round of national dialogue, reports Gamal Essam El-Din Tuesday night's meeting on the second floor of the Shura Council building between the leaders of 14 opposition parties and representatives of the ruling National Democratic Party -- the third round of national dialogue -- was effectively up-staged by the arrival of Ayman Nour, chairman of the Ghad (Tomorrow) Party, who immediately became the centre of a media scrum. Nour's arrest on 29 January thrust him into the international media spotlight. He was dubbed "Egypt's prisoner of freedom" in the American press . Released on Saturday, his internment had sparked a crisis in relations between Cairo and Washington, with the US secretary of state ostentatiously canceling a planned visit to Egypt earlier this month and telling reporters that Nour's arrest was of major concern to the administration, Congress and the people of America. (see interview with Nour, p.3) His new-found fame did not, however, prevent Nour from rallying behind the other parties in condemning foreign -- or rather American -- intervention in internal affairs. A statement endorsed by all parties, including Al-Ghad, praised President Hosni Mubarak's 26 February proposal aimed at amending Article 76 of the constitution to allow more than one candidate to run in presidential elections. They even agreed that their proposed revisions to the laws regulating parliamentary performance be presented to Mubarak for a final say. Tuesday night's meeting was devoted to just two issues -- President Mubarak's proposal on changing Article 76 of the constitution and the amendment of the law governing the performance of the People's Assembly (38/1972). Nour told reporters that Mubarak's proposal on Article 76 "came from the top rather than from the bottom". "By that," he continued, "I mean the proposal should have come following more pressure from ordinary voters or at least as a result of the dialogue's first two meetings." Had that been the case, Nour argued, the proposal would have looked more authentic. "The Ghad Party," Nour insisted, "wants a new constitution that will make of Egypt a parliamentary democracy similar to the one that existed 70 years ago." Nour went on to underline his determination to stand in the next presidential elections and criticised parliamentary speaker Fathi Sorour for proposing that candidates must belong to parties more than two years old. Al-Ghad has enjoyed legal existence for less than five months. Most opposition party representatives were united in warning that the NDP's legal experts could easily void Mubarak's proposal of any real meaning. Nomaan Gomaa, leader of the Wafd Party, said it would be impossible for any opposition or independent presidential hopeful to obtain the support of 20 per cent of elected MPs in parliament and on the Shura Council, let alone members of local councils across 14 governorates. "If the rumoured restrictions turn out to be true the presidential election will turn out to be a referendum again, with President Mubarak winning it unopposed as usual," Gomaa said. Gomaa proposed that the elections comprise two rounds. "While the first would be contested by many candidates, the second run-off will be between the two with the highest number of votes." Concerning the People's Assembly law, Kamal El-Shazli, NDP's assistant secretary-general and minister for parliamentary affairs, said the participants had split into two camps over several issues. "As a result," El-Shazli said, "their proposals will be presented to President Mubarak to give a final say on them." Topping parties' differences was the question of the electoral system to be adopted in parliamentary elections. Twelve parties, including the NDP, El-Shazli said, were in favour of the existing system under which candidates are obliged to run on an individual basis, while three (the Tagammu, Wafd and Ghad) preferred party lists. "The dispute," said El-Shazli, "will be left to President Mubarak to resolve." Eleven parties, El-Shazli revealed, had objected to any amendment allowing "draft dodgers" to run in the next parliamentary election while only four -- Al-Ghad, Al-Tagammu, Al- Wafd and Al-Ittihadi, supported such a change. The funding of electoral campaigns also provoked controversy, with all parties in agreement that the penalties incurred for receiving foreign funding be stiffened. "There is a general proposal," said El-Shazli "that those proved guilty of soliciting bribes or receiving foreign funding be criminalised and immediately banned from contesting elections." The NDP's secretary-general, Safwat El- Sherif, added that all parties were agreed that the NGO law must not be manipulated to allow foreign forces to intervene in domestic political affairs by funding either candidates or those monitoring elections. Two weeks ago the US offered a $1 million grant to six NGOs hoping to monitor the elections. While the parties were, according to El-Shazli, unanimous in their desire to see campaign spending ceilings raised from the LE5,000 currently allowed, there was division over the question of deposits, which were raised in 2000 from LE200 to LE1,000. The Tagammu, Wafd and Takaful (mutual support) all requested that the deposit be lowered to its 2000 level. There was agreement among all parties that the Interior Ministry must step up its efforts to upgrade voter registration lists and that candidates of all parties should have easy access to the lists in their constituencies. The Interior Ministry was also urged to speed up the issuing of national number cards. "These modern and computerised identity cards," El-Shazli claimed, "are essential in facilitating voting and eliminating potential irregularities." Opposition party leaders joined in calling for LE500 million to be allocated to help finish the Herculean task of issuing national number cards to all citizens ahead of parliamentary elections next October. Currently, only 55 per cent of the population has been issued with the cards.
