Nasserist MP Hamdeen Sabbahi plans to contest the presidential elections as a "popular candidate". He explains his strategy to Amira Howeidy As a student in Cairo University in the mid-1970s die- hard Nasserist Hamdeen Sabbahi wanted to know how, after winning the 1976 student elections, he could continue implementing his political ideas after graduation. He had been convinced since high school that one day he would become the president of the "United Arab Republic", hence, he explains, his longstanding commitment to "liberate the poor" and "restore Egypt's leading role in the Arab region". Now 55, the independent MP and founder of the would-be Karama opposition party is getting ready for what will be the toughest battle in his political career so far, the 2011 presidential elections. But here's the twist: he is planning to run as a "popular" candidate. The phrase is somewhat vague. Indeed, it remains unclear just how a "popular" candidate will be accommodated within the rules governing presidential elections. "I don't distinguish between the presidential elections and the battle for change in Egypt," he told Al-Ahram Weekly, "and I'm not planning to provide political décor" for the coming elections. "I want Egyptians to seize the opportunity of the elections to explore our ability to achieve change, which is the antithesis of the succession and inheritance of power advocated by the regime." The constitutional amendments passed in 2005 to allow for multi- candidate presidential elections (Article 76) placed watertight restrictions on who could run. Potential nominees must secure the support of at least 65 MPs, 45 members of the Shura Council and 140 members of local municipal councils to be eligible. All three institutions are jam-packed with members of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). Even the most optimistic independent could not help but feel the cards have been stacked against him. Sabbahi's strategy against such seemingly insurmountable odds is to build public momentum behind a campaign to amend Article 76, as well as Article 88 of the constitution. The latter was modified in 2007, effectively cancelling judicial supervision of public elections. "We must reclaim the right of independents to contest the elections and reclaim guarantees for a fair vote by exerting public pressure on the regime," says Sabbahi. His preferred tactic is to mobilise public support in two stages. During the first Sabbahi and his Karama Party, which was refused a licence by the Political Parties committee, plan to collect 100,000 signatures from across Egypt -- "at least 2000 from every governorate" -- together with photocopies of the IDs of the signatories endorsing Sabbahi as a "popular candidate" and supporting his demands for constitutional amendments. This, Sabbahi says, will be the litmus test of his campaign, for if he fails to collect the target number of signatures then he clearly is not "worthy" of representing the people as their "popular candidate". Should the required number of signatures be forthcoming he will then activate the second phase of the campaign, the aim of which will be to increase the number of signatures to one million, "an amount that can only reflect genuine popular demand". In 2005, when the first multi- candidate elections were held, Sabbahi refused to run, he says, because he did not want to lend credibility to a process "with pre-set results". President Hosni Mubarak's main contenders were Wafd Party leader Noaman Gomaa and Ayman Nour, the then leader of the liberal Ghad Party. The former received an estimated 5- 7 per cent of the vote, the latter 12 per cent. In the intervening four years Sabbahi's assessment of the situation has changed. "We really ought to seize the opportunity of this election to start moving the masses," he says, arguing that the coming two years -- in which parliamentary and presidential elections will take place -- will be "crucial" in persuading "the silent majority to adopt demands". Sabbahi's announcement comes at a time when uncertainty surrounds the possible nomination of Mohamed El-Baradei, former director of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Still based in Vienna, El-Baradei has expressed his interest in standing as a candidate but has set conditions very similar to Sabbahi's. In an interview with the American magazine Foreign Policy on Monday, El-Baradei dismissed any suggestion that he would contest the elections "unless there is the proper framework for a free and fair election". Other names being floated in the Egyptian media as possible contenders include Arab League Secretary- General Amr Moussa, Egyptian-American scientist Ahmed Zuweil and Ayman Nour. They are all "liberals" who "admire America", says Sabbahi. "How is it that not one of the names suggested till now stand for socialism or sides with the poor, in a country that suffers greatly from poverty?" "I know it's a tough battle ahead," he says with a sigh. "We work under very difficult conditions politically, and the regime will fight us... But no candidate can be of value if he fails to mobilise the people behind him."
