Mohamed Abdel-Baky reports on the progress of a new generation of parliamentary candidates "Choose the future. Choose change. Vote for Amr Ezz," reads a Youth Revolution Coalition (YRC) poster in Cairo's Imbaba district. For the first time in Egypt's parliamentary history hundreds of young people are standing as candidates in the People's Assembly elections. While there are no specific statistics on the age of candidates, an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 of the 7,000 who have registered are under 35. The majority are standing as independents. "The two main election coalitions, the Democratic Alliance and the Egyptian Bloc, simply ignored young candidates, especially in rural areas. They had no option but to run as independents," says Abdallah Helmi, a senior member of the Reform and Development Party. There is a belief, he adds, that the complexities of the party list system will confuse voters, and that independents stand a better chance. In September the YRC -- an alliance of youth movements that kick-started the 25 January Revolution, including the 6 April Movement -- announced that it would support 200 young candidates standing in constituencies across Egypt. "It is time to unite and support the people who care Egypt. Parliamentary elections will be a test of the strength of Egypt's youth," the statement said. At the time YRC also called for a coalition of revolutionaries to be formed to face up to remnants of the old regime seeking to stand as MPs. The YRC has been seeking to press the military authorities into giving an elected government the executive powers necessary to rule during the transition. The candidates it supports have also vowed to fight against all laws restricting freedom of expression. Ironically -- given it is fielding so many independent candidates -- the YRC was among the most vociferous supporters of an electoral system based exclusively on party lists. "We still believe there should be proportional representation but political developments in the last two months meant we were unable to build strong parties," says Helmi. "We know that our chances of winning are slight, but we believe that the people trust our commitment to building a democracy," says Asmaa Mahfouz, YRC candidate in Cairo's Heliopolis district. "I only know Mahfouz from the TV. From what I can tell she is anti-SCAF and the government, but I am not sure how she can serve Heliopolis if she gets elected," says Amina Mahmoud, a housewife from Heliopolis. Mahfouz faces 89 candidates battling to represent the constituency. Other youth leaders running for parliament include Khaled El-Said, Khaled El-Sayed, Zeyad El-Olimi, Islam Lotfi, Mohamed El-Qassas, Basem Kamel and Mustafa El-Naggar. El-Naggar, 31, is running against Fawaz El-Sayed, a businessman who has twice been jailed for corruption. Even so El-Sayed won the Nasr City seat as an NDP candidate on two occasions. While YRC candidates are agreed on a host of general policies -- reform of the Ministry of Interior and setting minimum wages for public and private sector employees, for example -- very few seem to be addressing problems specific to their constituencies. In a comment on Ezz's campaign Facebook page, one voter complains that he found nothing in the published programme relevant to addressing the problems endemic in the Imbaba constituency. Funding is also a major problem for young candidates, many of whom are financing their campaigns out of their own, not so deep pockets. Khaled Tlima, YRC candidate in the district of Awsim, points out that despite promises from the SCAF that funds would be made available for election campaigns, no money has been forthcoming. Most young, non-party candidates are running their campaigns on a shoestring. Competing on a level footing with parties such as the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, awash with money, is out of the question. In the Delta region, one young candidate's campaign consists entirely of a single van with a megaphone fixed on top. It tours the constituency playing an audiotape in which the candidate explains his pro
