Mohamed El-Baradei, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has issued a declaration outlining his vision of political reform, reports Gamal Essam El-Din Two days after he left Cairo for Europe, Mohamed El-Baradei, former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), announced a manifesto for political reform in Egypt. The Tuesday announcement of the manifesto came after a week of talks with a wide spectrum of Egyptian opposition figures, civil society leaders and cyberspace activists. Under the title "Together We Will Change", the manifesto argues seven guarantees are necessary to ensure that the parliamentary elections of 2010 and the presidential elections of 2011 are fair. "Following my meetings with Egyptians representing different political and sectarian tendencies and with representatives of civil society organisations it became clear that everyone agreed there is a pressing need for change and that a national assembly should be created to voice the demands of those who believe in the necessity of such change." El-Baradei said the assembly, which he had been asked to lead, will strive towards engendering a new political system based on real democracy and social justice. "The first step on the road is to make sure that elections -- be they parliamentary or presidential -- are marked with integrity." Among the guarantees insisted on by the manifesto is an end to the state of emergency, full judicial supervision of the elections and permission for international and local monitors to observe the poll. The declaration also stipulates that candidates should enjoy equal access to all information media, restrictions on who can be nominated in presidential elections lifted, the duration of the presidency limited to two terms in office and voter lists drawn up on the basis of the newly issued identity card. Implementation of the above guarantees, says El-Baradei, automatically requires the amendment of articles 76, 77 and 88 of the constitution. The manifesto sheds light on the objectives of the National Assembly for Change, formed on 24 February and which El-Baradei was asked to lead. "The assembly is open to all Egyptians who live in the country and outside and who share our views in terms of implementing the abovementioned guarantees and amending the constitution," says El-Baradei. "I would also like to emphasise that the role of the assembly will not be confined to changing the rules of presidential nomination but also launching a national campaign and mobilising people to work towards this change in a peaceful way." El-Baradei announced that Hassan Nafaa, Cairo University professor of political science, had been appointed as the assembly's coordinator. Nafaa also coordinates the activities of the Egyptian Campaign Against Inheritance of Power, an organisation opposed to the presidency being handed down along hereditary lines. El-Baradei said the rules governing membership of the assembly titles will be announced soon. El-Baradei's manifesto for change comes after the Coalition of Egyptian Opposition Parties -- which includes Wafd, Tagammu, the Nasserist, and the Democratic Front -- announced a conference on constitutional reform scheduled for the middle of this month. The conference will focus on amending articles 77, 78 and 88 of the constitution. "This means that articles 77, 78 and 88 will be the main point of contention between the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) and the opposition in 2010 and 2011," says Amr El-Shobaki, a political analyst with Al-Ahram, "We are about to see a new wave of political dynamism, hopefully an extension of the democratic spring that began to trickle in 2004 when Washington exerted pressure for reform in advance of the 2005 presidential and parliamentary elections." El-Shobaki believes that, "although El-Baradei and official opposition parties share a reform agenda centred on amending articles 77, 78 and 88, there are major differences between their positions". "El-Baradei believes opposition parties like Wafd and Tagammu lost their appeal a long time ago and the push for reform must come from new forms of opposition," said El-Shobaki. Abdel-Rahman Youssef, a poet and the son of the well-known cleric Youssef El-Qaradawi, said "a meeting between Facebook activists and El-Baradei on 24 February focussed on amending articles 76, 77 and 88." "We all agreed the amendment of these three articles will open the door to wider political participation in Egypt." El-Baradei's manifesto, argues El-Shobaki, signals that his decision to contest the presidential election of 2011 remains contingent on guarantees for a fair election being in place. "The manifesto makes it clear that El-Baradei is interested in change and sowing the seeds of political reform and democracy rather than in becoming president of Egypt one day. It is also clear that he hopes Egyptians will rally behind him to achieve change." In a press interview on 27 February, El-Baradei warned that the NDP's insistence on ignoring peaceful calls for change could trigger an Intifada. "You all saw how Egyptians received me at the airport on 19 February. It was a sign of the extent of the appetite for change," said El-Baradei. "Change is inevitable and the regime should be ready to accept it in order to avoid a confrontation with the people." The NDP's reaction to El-Baradei's manifesto and political activity has been lukewarm. The government newspapers, which El-Baradei lambasted as mouthpieces of the regime, have mostly opted to ignore his activities. Osama Saraya, editor of Al-Ahram, lamented on 26 February that, "Egypt will never again be captive to banned groups or marginal forces or international inspectors who aim to spread chaos." Mustafa Elwi, a professor of political science and an appointed NDP member of the Shura Council, says "the NDP has no objection that an internationally respected figure like El-Baradei issues calls for change." "But the problem with El-Baradei is that he has opted for a confrontational style. He is trying his best to paint a very bad picture of Egypt in order to justify his calls for change and this is wrong." An alliance of seven minor opposition parties announced on Monday that they would launch a campaign against El-Baradei standing in presidential elections. Ahmed Al-Fadali, chairman of the so-called Democratic Peace party, said "El-Baradei's anti-NDP campaign is aimed at destabilising the country and allowing foreign forces to penetrate its political system."
