In an attempt to turn recent calls for national dialogue into reality opposition parties and the ruling NDP have begun a series of preparatory meetings, reports Gamal Essam El-Din The invitation extended by President Hosni Mubarak on 28 September for a national dialogue between the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and opposition parties has been followed up by invitations from NDP Secretary-General Safwat El-Sherif to the chairmen of three main opposition parties, the Wafd, the leftist Tagammu and the Arab Nasserist to attend a series of separate meetings. The first, with Tagammu Chairman Khaled Mohieddin, took place yesterday. The decision to precede the proposed national dialogue with these meetings was taken by the NDP's steering office on 13 October. The office entrusted El- Sherif and NDP Assistant Secretary- General Kamal El-Shazli with the task of negotiating a mutually acceptable agenda. According to senior officials the NDP wants to cap the dialogue with "a charter of honour" with opposition forces. NDP Chairman President Hosni Mubarak mentioned the charter during his speech to the NDP's first annual conference last month. "It is... designed to fulfil a code of ethics aimed at governing electoral campaigning and ensuring transparency of partisan activities," he said. NDP insiders told Al-Ahram Weekly that the charter of honour is expected to focus on three main issues: funding, campaigning, and competition. "We do not want to see opposition parties receive funding from foreign regimes in return for becoming mouthpieces for these regimes," a party source said. Other NDP insiders accused opposition papers of receiving money from Iraq, Lebanon, Libya and Syria, and said the dissolved Islamist-oriented Labour Party was receiving money from Sudan and the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. "We want opposition parties to have transparent and reliable budgets clearly showing sources of funding," said a party source, who also argued that the Liberal Party allowed outlawed groups like the Muslim Brotherhood to use its press licence for money. NDP insiders also discussed the proposed charter's goals for enabling a greater number of young people, and especially women, to run for election. The source said the party also "hoped that a new electoral law aimed at eliminating vote-buying, bullying and excessive campaign spending will be passed ahead of the 2005 parliamentary elections." El- Shazli, who is also minister of parliamentary affairs, has vowed that the new electoral law will be drafted in coordination with opposition parties. The opposition, however, has been sceptical of the charter, suspicious that the NDP might be trying to impose even more restrictions on their activities. Mohieddin said Egypt was "awash with charters of honour -- such as the press code of ethics -- but none have been respected". Opposition party leaders agree that party life is in need of greater transparency but reject the imposition of new shackles on their activities under that guise. Arab Nasserist Party Chairman Diaaeddin Dawoud told the Weekly that the Political Parties Law mandates the Central Auditing Agency to supervise all opposition parties and their mouthpieces. "I think the NDP's allegations that opposition parties receive funding from foreign regimes is quite ludicrous," Dawoud said. "The NDP knows quite well that most opposition parties suffer a chronic shortage of funding." According to Dawoud, this is partly due to businesses being told not to advertise in opposition papers. Mohieddin said that "if the NDP thinks that opposition parties receive foreign funding, we think this party [the NDP] entirely depends on the state's financial and administrative resources, and this must end for the sake of fair competition." Mohieddin and Wafd Party chairman No'man Gomaa have also demanded that the proposed charter of honour lead to a separation between the NDP and the government. Mohieddin said "the charter must [stipulate] that all parties be on equal footing when receiving money from the state treasury, organising demonstrations, marches and rallies, issuing newspapers, highlighting their activities in the state media, and [treatment by] municipal councils and security forces." The opposition also focussed on the charter's elections section. Dawoud said the opposition would insist that the proposed charter state that general elections be placed under full judicial supervision -- with absolutely no role for police forces. "This means that a higher judicial authority takes charge of all election responsibilities, ranging from revising voter lists to supervising polling stations," . Gomaa noted that to prevent vote buying, a cross-party campaign-spending ceiling must be established; otherwise, he argued, the parliament would fall prey to a group of NDP millionaires. Gomaa underlined the importance of the Muslim Brotherhood's participation in the proposed national dialogue and the signing of its charter of honour. At the same time, he said, the charter must emphasise that religion-based parties remain banned.
