Political reform, disreputable ruling party MPs and the economic crisis look to top parliament's agenda this term. Gamal Essam El-Din reports The People's Assembly was back at work yesterday, opening the fourth session of its five-year term following a five-month summer recess. Yesterday's procedural meeting witnessed the re- election of Fathi Sorour as assembly speaker. Sorour is the first speaker in Egypt's 137-year-old parliamentary history to hold the post for 14 consecutive years. This year's procedural meeting featured a bit of drama, with several MPs being formally stripped of their membership. The NDP's Abdallah Tayel, a business tycoon and the former chairman of parliament's economic committee, was officially removed from the assembly following his 10 September sentencing to 10 years in jail for profiteering, forging official documents, and facilitating the embezzlement of LE262 million. The so-called draft-dodging MPs, however, were the meeting's main attraction. Fifteen MPs -- all from the NDP -- were set to have their memberships revoked for not having performed their military service. Until Tuesday, 11 of the 15 had agreed to submit their resignations instead of being officially removed from the assembly during the session. This turn of events was the brainchild of NDP parliamentary whip and State Minister for Parliamentary affairs Kamal El-Shazli, who exerted a great deal of effort to convince the MPs that resigning would be better -- for them and the party -- than being officially stripped of their seats by the assembly. The three-year-old draft-dodging deputies saga dominated last summer's political scene. On 17 August, the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) ordered that these deputies' memberships be suspended. El-Shazli told the deputies that if they resigned, the NDP would help them nominate their offspring or relatives to run in the new elections meant to fill their vacant seats. The opposition charged that El- Shazli's tactics were in tune with NDP leaders' tendencies to "groom their sons to occupy the party's leading posts". Some of the draft-dodgers themselves accused the NDP of using them as "scapegoats". Most political pundits, meanwhile, agreed that political reform would be the new parliamentary session's central theme -- mainly catalysed by the initiatives adopted by the NDP's first annual conference last September. One of these is President Hosni Mubarak's call for a national dialogue between the NDP and opposition parties. This dialogue is meant to reach an agreement on a package of political reforms and a code of ethics on electoral campaigning. The People's Assembly, according to informed sources, is expected to host this dialogue and translate its ideas into reality. Amending the 25-year-old Political Parties Law (40/1977), the law on the exercise of political rights (73/1956) and the Professional Syndicates Law (100/ 1993) are expected to be the dialogue's priorities. The assembly's first order of business, however, will probably be amending the Egyptian Nationality Law (26/ 1975). As recommended by the September NDP conference, the law will be amended to allow individuals born to Egyptian mothers and non-Egyptian fathers to adopt Egyptian citizenship. The assembly is also expected to discuss another NDP-inspired bill meant to establish special courts to settle family disputes. These two laws are considered part of the party's new philosophy aimed at promoting civil liberties. The national dialogue issue has seen its share of conflict as well, most of which has centred on the NDP's decision to exclude the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood -- whose opposition bloc is the largest in parliament (16 MPs) -- because the group is not a legal political party. At a 7 November Ramadan iftar held by the Brotherhood, several opposition figures condemned the exclusion of the Brotherhood from the proposed dialogue. Coptic politician Milad Hanna said any successful national dialogue must include the Brothers. Hamdi El- Sayed, a leading NDP figure and chairman of the Doctors Syndicate, expressed his regret that the party's old guard had manipulated Mubarak's call for dialogue in order to exclude the Brotherhood. Mohamed Mursi, the Brotherhood's parliamentary speaker, told Al-Ahram Weekly that he believes the dialogue's main objective is to intimidate the Brotherhood away from actively participating in political life, and mobilise opposition parties against it. "America's invasion of Iraq created a strong united front against the NDP and the dialogue is meant to disrupt this front by driving a wedge between the Brotherhood and other opposition parties." Despite this, Mursi said that, "Brotherhood MPs are not planning to flex their muscles against the NDP and the government" during the next session. "We will exercise our parliamentary rights in the same objective way we have in previous sessions." The Brotherhood is, however, preparing to direct an interpellation (a question that must be answered) to Interior Minister Habib El-Adli. According to Mursi, Brotherhood activist Mosaad Qotb was tortured to death on 3 November by Giza police officers. Mursi believes that Qotb's death represents the latest in a cycle of harassment perpetrated by the government against the Brotherhood since the war in Iraq. When it comes to the government's economic policies, Brotherhood and opposition party MPs will probably unite in calling for Prime Minister Atef Ebeid's government to resign or be forced down. El-Badri Farghali, an outspoken leftist MP, told the Weekly that Ebeid government's record was disastrous. "There are too many questions we have to direct at this government -- on issues like the 'black cloud', the dollarisation of the economy, the bread shortage, and the health and youth ministries' failure to protect athletes participating in the recent All Africa Games," Farghali said. The MP hopes that serious political reform will finally lead to a democratically elected government that will be capable of saving Egypt from the ongoing economic predicament. Ebeid said his government will be submitting a promising agenda of economic reform draft laws to the assembly's new session. Foremost among these, Ebeid said, are new tax cuts that will raise the salaries of five million families by 30-50 per cent. Others are aimed at fighting monopolistic practices, providing new investment incentives, and reforming the customs system. Ebeid also said that two of his government's priorities are to reduce the budget deficit (which rose by LE12.2 billion in one year) and slash public debts (which currently stand at more than 60 per cent of GDP). Ebeid also defended his government's performance during an interview with El-Mehwar satellite channel, when he said, "I am ready to offer my post to anyone who is capable of bearing my colossal responsibilities and doing a better job."
