The NDP's three-day congress saw a shift in the balance of power away from the ruling party's old guard, writes Gamal Essam El-Din The eighth congress of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), held under the slogan "A New Way of Thinking", closed on Tuesday after two days of intense debates. President Hosni Mubarak -- elected on Sunday for a sixth term as NDP chairman -- used the opportunity of his closing speech to outline his vision for Egypt's domestic and foreign policies over the next five years, underlining the state's commitment to guaranteeing the public and individual rights and freedoms of citizens. The recommendations of the three-day congress's eight committees were read out by the NDP's newly elected secretary- general, Safwat El-Sherif, and Gamal Mubarak, President Mubarak's 38-year-old son and the chairman of the newly formed Policy Secretariat. The recommendations ranged over strategies for ensuring living standards among those on limited incomes and encouraging decentralisation, to ways of improving the essential public services and boosting participation in political life across the board. The congress ushered in a radical overhaul of the party's internal structures, including the politburo and the Secretariat- General. President Mubarak emphasised changes were aimed at democratising the party's structures and ensuring a greater roll for the party's younger members. According to new internal regulations, the politburo will increase from 12 to 14 members, including the party chairman, his domestic and foreign affairs deputies, the prime minister, the speakers of the People's Assembly and Shura Council and the NDP secretary-general. Eight members will be nominated by the party chairman. On Monday it was announced that President Mubarak had asked that the selection mechanism for the party chairman be amended. The chairman, Mubarak said, must be elected by at least 20 per cent of congress members in a direct ballot. And in the eventuality of the post falling vacant, it would be filled temporarily by the older of his two deputies. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture Youssef Wali was replaced, after 17-years as secretary-general, by Minister of Information Safwat El-Sherif. Wali is now NDP deputy chairman for domestic affairs, an honourary post given that the party's politburo has no powers beyond endorsing policies and parliamentary candidates. The day-to-day running of the party falls within the remit of the Secretariat- General. The limited but significant shake-up marks a watershed in the party's structure, the balance tilting towards younger members. Gamal Mubarak is now chairman of the party's newly formed secretariat for policies and a member of the Secretariat- General's six-member steering office, the NDP's most influential body, responsible for monitoring the party's performance. It includes, alongside Mubarak, El-Sherif, Kamal El-Shazli, Mamdouh El-Beltagui, the chairman of the newly-elected secretariat for administrative and financial affairs and chief of presidential staff Zakaria Azmi, and Minister of Youth Alieddin Hilal. The policy secretariat, now led by Gamal Mubarak, who has emerged as a central figure at this congress, will include a 200-member higher council to coordinate party policy, its remit to debate policies and recommendations proposed by the party's congress, committees and secretariats. The secretariat's higher council will coordinate with the government on mechanisms necessary to effectively implement NDP recommendations into action. The majority of the Secretariat-General -- some 20 figures -- are thought to be firmly within the Gamal Mubarak camp. Five of the Secretariat-General's members -- Gamal Mubarak, Mahmoud Mohieddin, Ahmed Ezz, Hossam Awad and Youssef Boutros Ghali -- are in their late thirties and early forties, and are likely to provide a counterbalance to the party's influential old guard apparatchiks Safwat El-Sherif and Kamal El-Shazli. One of the casualties of the changes is the long-held belief that decision making in the NDP lies in the hands of three or four figures. That process, Gamal Mubarak said on Sunday, is now the sum of the collective will of its members. The recommendations proposed by the NDP were coolly received in opposition circles. Hussein Abdel-Razeq, chairman of the leftist Tagammu Party's political committee, told Al-Ahram Weekly that "NDP recommendations, especially on democratisation, are no more than rhetoric." "If they are really serious about democratisation they should have formed a 'political reform' committee that could have recommended that opposition parties be given greater freedom in organising public rallies and ensuring that elections are free from rigging," said Abdel-Razeq. Related stories: The dawn of a new era Changing from within Only a beginning Countdown to 'New Thinking' 12 - 18 September 2002 House cleaning 5 - 11 September 2002
