After a long absence from the political scene, opposition parties are back, but Mona El-Nahhas wonders how serious they really are Leaders of opposition parties who are members of a recently-formed coalition met late last week at the headquarters of the liberal Wafd Party to outline the steps they will take towards political reform. The opposition agreed to start working towards the amendment of two controversial articles of the constitution to curb what they say is the unlimited authority of the president. Next month, the coalition will hold another meeting to discuss what was done with regard to the drafting of the amendments. Last month, leaders of the three biggest opposition parties -- the liberal Wafd, the leftist Tagammu and the Arab Nasserist -- decided to form a coalition ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections due to be held in 2010 and 2011 respectively. The liberal Democratic Front Party joined the coalition afterwards. In a statement issued during the meeting, coalition members stressed their keenness to mobilise all political powers and unify public opinion towards overall democratic reform. The Muslim Brotherhood was not allowed to join the coalition because, as coalition members argue, the MB's ideologies do not conform with the idea of establishing a civil state as proposed by other parties. Even the suggestion adopted by the Democratic Front Party to allow the MB to attend only meetings of the coalition was strongly opposed by the other three parties. The MB was not surprised by being prevented from joining the coalition. "Such opposition parties have certain calculations which are known to everyone," said Abdel-Hamid El-Ghazali, a leading MB member. "Joining hands with us would deprive them of the gains they are seeking." On the suggested amendments, Nabil Zaki, the Tagammu spokesman, said the coalition will call for amending Article 77 limiting the terms allowed to the president to two instead of leaving it open. "The coalition will also seek to facilitate the rather far-fetched conditions required to run in presidential polls by amending Article 76," Zaki added. Article 76, which organises the nomination process for presidential polls, has been severely criticised on the grounds that except for the NDP presidential candidate, other candidates will face obstacles which could prevent them from taking part in the polls. An opposition candidate should be a member of the party's higher committee. Things get tougher for an independent candidate who must collect the signatures of 250 members of parliament and municipal councils. Although the opposition candidate will have a chance to run, his chances of winning are nearly impossible, bearing in mind that elections are not 100 per cent fair. The coalition has several topics on its agenda. Introducing changes to the law on practising political rights, pressing for the restoration of judicial supervision over elections, and lifting obstacles facing political forces will get priority. Asked how they would carry out their agenda, Zaki said they will first present their amendments to the People's Assembly. "The response the government will show to our demands will define our next step," Zaki said, adding that in case of a shock response, the coalition may decide to boycott the two polls. Asked if he believed the boycott was the strongest possible reply to the government's no-response, Zaki said the boycott will be their last option. "Of course, there will be a series of protests, such as sit-ins, peaceful marches and so on," Zaki noted. Political analyst Amr Hashim Rabie seriously doubts the coalition will do anything of worth. "It's just a show to prove they still exist," Rabie said. According to Rabie, death certificates of opposition parties have been already signed. A majority of the public share Rabie's view. They believe the presence of the coalition does nothing more than lend legitimacy to the regime. And the public seems to be dead certain that such parties are infiltrated by the state. That may explain why their headquarters are deserted and their mouthpiece publications unreadable. In fact, for nearly 30 years, opposition parties have failed to achieve anything of note. Their performance has sharply deteriorated, causing them to lose contact with the public. And instead of battling to achieve long-awaited political reforms, the parties have become embroiled in endless power struggles, motivated mainly by the state. Their leaders are satisfied with the handful of parliamentary seats the state allows them in every poll, and with their parties' chairmanship seats which they have been holding on to for ages.
