Always a political month, this year's Ramadan has seen the politicians in overdrive, reports Dina Ezzat A presidential candidate with an Islamist background and affiliations but capable of representing all Egyptians without discrimination: this is the message Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh, one time Muslim brotherhood big-wig before being expelled from the group, has been trying to convey to the public since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. Touring governorates, attending Iftars and Sohours -- both humble and lavish -- and above all meetings following the long evening prayers of Ramadan: Abul-Fotouh has been trying to use the traditional get-togethers of Ramadan to put his presidential credentials across. Not that he is alone. Almost every other presidential runner has been lobbying during Ramadan, some more successfully than others. Mohamed Selim El-Awwa, another Islamist name on the list of potential runners, has been doing the rounds of social and religious gatherings, promoting much the same message: "Islam does not condone theocracies nor discrimination among Muslims and non-Muslims." Amr Moussa and Hamdeen Sabahi, potential candidates who, for whatever reasons, escaped being vilified by the former regime as somehow non-Muslim, have used the holy month, according to their campaign teams, to "communicate", "learn about what the people want" and "to discuss pressing issues with intellectuals and the public". Most candidates have been keen to avoid controversy, speaking in general terms about the future without discussing details of pressing issues such as the composition of the committee that will be charged with drafting a new constitution, or addressing current hot topics such as whether or not that committee should be bound by a pre-set code of principles. Yet as they pass their time in cafés, visit people in their homes, endlessly pressing hands with voters, the candidates are in the odd position of not knowing when the presidential elections will be held. Will they be in a matter of months? A year? More? At least political parties have a clearer idea of when they need to be ready, with parliamentary elections widely expected in November. Political parties are, in many ways, treading new ground during what is the first Ramadan since the 25 January Revolution. For Sherdi, as well as officials from other parties, it is the first time they are entering parliamentary elections free of the pressures the former regime placed on them, not least the threat of extensive vote rigging that so marred the November-December 2010 legislative elections. It also means, according to the Karama Party's Amin Iskandar, that the competition among parties will be more intense. In previous elections there was never any doubt that Mubarak's National Democratic Party would win an overwhelming majority. The only real question was how many seats the Muslim Brotherhood would manage to secure. For the Muslim Brotherhood -- awash with money -- and by extension its newly launched party Freedom and Justice, this Ramadan has been like no other. For the first time in decades it is free of government pressure and the threat of persecution. In addition to endless Iftars and Sohours and loaded sermons delivered in mosques subsidised by the group, this Ramadan has been marked by calls call to "revive Islamic practices and an Islamic life style". When Ramadan comes to an end the Muslim Brotherhood, via its Freedom and Justice Party, is hoping to have widened its support base to the extent that it will not just win the over 30 per cent of People's Assembly seats it has targeted, but close to 90 per cent of the local council seats up for grabs in 2012. Other political parties, particularly those new to the scene, have more modest ambitions, seeking only to make their names and those of their leading members familiar with the public. Ramadan, of course, must end, and with it the kind of soft campaigning that avoids any issue of substance. As parliamentary elections draw closer the parties will be forced to spell out precisely how they intend to tackle the problems -- economic and social -- in which Egypt is mired. For presidential candidates, the timetable is less pressing. The biggest issue they face is where to pray during the feast.
