The outlines of Egypt's post-revolution political landscape are slowly emerging, reports Gamal Essam El-Din The new law regulating the performance of political parties, drafted by the ruling Higher Council of the Armed Forces (HCAF) and issued on 28 March, provoked the ire of many activists. They complained that it imposed cumbersome measures and unwarranted costs which would make it difficult for the young forces that led the 25 January Revolution to form political parties. Three months later, though, and the political landscape of Egypt has changed with the licensing of several new parties by the Political Parties Committee. First off the ground was the Muslim Brotherhood, which quickly collected the necessary 8,000 signatures. The headquarters of its new party, Freedom and Justice, is a brand new building for which the group paid a reported LE20 million. Although Brotherhood leaders insist that the Freedom and Justice Party will be completely separate from the parent organisation their reassurances have failed to assuage the concerns of many. Some younger members of the Brotherhood went so far as to launch their own party. The Egyptian Current Party is led by Islam Lutfi, and claims to include several members of the 25 January Revolution Coalition. While the Freedom and Justice Party aims to turn Egypt into a civilian democratic state with an Islamist background and reference, the Egyptian Current Party insists it represents "the centrist ideology which dominates all currents of society". The proliferation of Islamist-oriented parties began eight days after Hosni Mubarak fell from power. On 19 February, ahead of the HCAF-drafted political parties law, the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) ordered that the Islamist Wasat Party be approved. The Wasat leaders are Muslim Brotherhood dissidents who also propose a centrist ideology based on moderate Islam and the principles of the modern civilian state. "We are similar to the Hadari [civilised] Islam promoted by Mahathir Mohamed, the former prime minister and founder of modern Malaysia, and the Justice and Development Party of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan," says Wasat Deputy Chairman Essam Sultan. A week after the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party was officially licensed on 6 June a second Islamist-oriented party was formed. The Nour (Light) was licensed on 12 June, its membership mostly drawn from Salafis in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. Like the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, Nour leaders argue that they are not espousing an extremist form of Islam and are committed to a civilian, democratic state. "The party includes 40 Copts and almost half of its members are women," claims Nour leader Emadeddin Abdel-Ghani. The Salafis, however, face accusations that they are behind several sectarian clashes, including the burning of a church in Giza's densely-populated district of Imbaba. Sociologist Saadeddin Ibrahim believes that "Salafis pose a great danger to democracy." Construction and Development, a party launched by Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, the group behind many terrorist attacks in Egypt in the 1990s, is also about to be licensed. Essam Derbala, chairman of the Group's Advisory Council, stresses that the Gamaa renounced violence a long time ago and now believes in democracy and civilian state party. Secular and civilian forces were slower to begin the process of forming parties. First to be licensed was the Reform and Development Party, founded by Esmat El-Sadat, a nephew of late president Anwar El-Sadat, which was approved on 21 May. On 14 and 15 June three more secular groups applied to be licensed, including the Egyptian Liberal Party, founded by Coptic business tycoon Naguib Sawiris. "We believe in a liberal ideology based on the principles of freedom of expression, assembly and worship, equal citizenship, rule of the law, a competitive market economy and guarantees for the rights of minorities," says Sawiris. According to its founder, the Egyptian Liberal Party will seek alliances with other liberal-oriented forces such as the Democratic Front, led by Al-Ahram journalist Osama El-Ghazali Harb, and Ghad (Tomorrow), led by Ayman Nour. Sawiris says he is against coordinating with the Wafd "on the grounds that the latter has decided to initiate a partnership with Muslim Brotherhood". Some commentators have accused the Egyptian Liberal Party of basically serving the interests of the business community, charges Sawiris denies, pointing out that the party includes a number of public figures, including poet Ahmed Fouad Negm and novelist Gamal El-Ghitani, who are committed socialists. "The Social Democratic Party also applied for a licence on 14 June. Its membership includes a mix of intellectuals and political activists with leftist leanings, including economist Hazem El-Biblawi, constitutional law expert Mohamed Nour Farahat, liberal Cairo University professor and gynaecologist Mohamed Abul-Ghar, movie director Dawoud Abdel-Sayed, leftist activist Farid Zahran; and prominent surgeon Mohamed Ghoneim. The party also includes some of the 25 January Revolution's young leaders such as Ziad El-Oleimi. The Social Democratic Party, says Abdel-Sayed, will not only promote liberal and democratic ideals but also defend social justice. "Social justice disappeared from Egypt since late president Gamal Abdel-Nasser died in 1970. One of the major goals of the party is to reinstitute social justice not only in terms of bridging the growing chasm between the rich and the poor but also by democratising the election of leaders of trade unions, professional syndicates and local councils." A day later the Justice Party applied for a licence. The executive office of the party, whose slogan is "Justice is the Hope for the Future", includes a mix of younger and old public figures, the most prominent of which are political analysts Mustafa El-Naggar and Wahid Abdel-Meguid. "The Justice Party," says Abdel-Meguid, "will seek to defend the interests of the poor and those on limited-incomes." "The Justice Party believes in liberal democracy, of course, but it also believes that this kind of democracy can never be achieved without addressing social injustice in Egypt." The party aims to lift millions of Egyptians from the trap of poverty by creating jobs, achieving sustainable development and improving public services, especially low-cost housing and medical treatment. Abdel-Meguid believes that "socialist forces and liberal social movements will only be able to rival Islamist forces by acting in consort, forming alliances among themselves and also with existing leftist parties, primarily the Tagammu and the Nasserists". "These parties were a major force until the middle of the 1980s when they suffered as a result of the heavy-handed police tactics of the Mubarak regime. Now, though, there is a golden opportunity to breathe new life into these groups." The leftists, however, continue to look divided. The Nasserists and Tagammu are embroiled in internal power struggles, though both agreed, initially at least, to join a loose grouping of political parties under the name The Democratic Consensus Charter for the Sake of Egypt. "We joined this coalition in order to reach a consensus on the main guidelines of the new constitution," says Rifaat El-Said, chairman of the Tagammu. "But when we found the Brotherhood distributing statements to the effect that it is seeking to turn Egypt into an Islamist state we decided to withdraw." On 11 June the liberal-oriented Wafd and Muslim Brotherhood surprised analysts by announcing an alliance. The move was criticised by several Wafdists, with some -- mostly Copts -- deciding to resign. "How can a liberal party like the Wafd ally itself with an Islamist group like the Brotherhood?" asks Sameh Makram Ebeid, a veteran member of the party. Wafd chairman, El-Sayed El-Badawi, defended the move, arguing that "it is not an alliance but part of a larger front aimed at reaching consensus over a number of political issues."
