While much was achieved so far by the January Revolution, ordinary Egyptians do not feel the change. Consensus in moving forward is key to realising unmet common goals, writes Abdel-Ghaffar Shukr* The 25 January Revolution achieved a lot in its first year. It succeeded in overthrowing the head of the former regime in less than three weeks after it started. It managed to bring that former president and his aides to trial on charges of killing protesters and abusing their powers to acquire personal fortunes. Also, many senior officials are being tried for plundering and deliberately squandering national wealth. Nor were its successes only at the top. It eliminated the most important ruling institutions of the former regime by dissolving the National Democratic Party and the government bodies the ruling party had stacked, such as the People's Assembly and Shura Council, local municipal councils, and the boards of directors of the General Federation of Labour Unions. Then it lifted restrictions on the creation of political parties, as a result of which there are now more than 150. In addition, labour syndicates, which had been put in the deep freezer more than 25 years ago, as a result of Law 100/1933, held their first board of directors' elections without the intervention of the regime. Finally, Egypt has held its first free and fair People's Assembly elections in 60 years. In spite of these many successes, the revolution has not succeeded in realising its major aims, which are to bring freedom, social justice and human dignity to the Egyptian people through the establishment of a democratic government to replace the existing authoritarian system. The transitional phase of the Egyptian revolution did not follow the course of transitional phases in other countries, which is why it is lasting longer than planned. Instead of beginning by creating an assembly to draw up a new constitution whose promulgation would end the transitional period with elections to create the constitutionally stipulated governmental bodies, the Egyptian transition process proceeded in an entirely different direction. Here we had a referendum on amendments to some of the articles of the old constitution and then a "constitutional declaration" that determined that legislative elections should be held first and that the newly elected People's Assembly and Shura Council would be charged with electing a commission to draft a new constitution. Whether presidential elections would be held before or after the drafting of a new constitution was left up in the air. Without a new constitution, the revolution will remain incapable of establishing a just democratic system in which Egyptians will be able to exercise their right to elect their leaders and to change them periodically in accordance with their own free will. Yet this is the essence of the democratic development that Egypt needs and aspires to. Without a new constitution, the country cannot seriously progress towards the establishment of a just social and economic system that meets the needs of the Egyptian people for an appropriate and dignified standard of living. Nor will it be possible to draw up proper long- range plans for the development of the economy. Therefore, after a full year since the 25 January Revolution we are unable to detect substantial change in the political, economic and social conditions of the country. We have certainly not seen the radical change that is characteristic of any revolution worthy of the name. This accounts for the political friction and tensions that have been straining society and that precipitated sharp divisions over how to commemorate the first anniversary of the 25 January Revolution. Some believe that it is enough to mark this occasion with a celebration of the accomplishments of the revolution. Others insist that 25 January should be a day for taking stock of what has been achieved and what remains to be done, and a day to reinvigorate the revolutionary impetus in order to press for a proper closure to the interim phase, as marked by the return of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to its original functions, which are to defend the nation and secure its borders, and the transfer of power to an elected civil government, as embodied in the People's Assembly as its legislative authority and the president as its chief executive authority. A major aspect of the 25 January anniversary is connected with the Egyptian people's aspirations for a better life. To the ordinary Egyptian, revolution is not just chants and slogans, however catchy and inspiring. To him or her it means making those essential radical changes to the country's political and economic life that will fulfil the dream of a dignified life, meet their essential material needs, and promise a proper education, decent healthcare and appropriate housing. Until these changes are made, the revolution has little sense or value to the ordinary Egyptian. Therefore, urgent steps need to be taken towards the realisation of social justice and the improvement of living standards. In light of the foregoing, I believe that the anniversary of the revolution should serve as an occasion for all political forces to reach a national consensus over a collective drive to keep the revolution alive so as to ensure that the required changes are made that will enable it to attain its major objectives. Therefore, all parties should agree to make 2012 the year to achieve true victory for the revolution, ushering in a new phase in the life of our country based on a new constitution and the creation of new institutions of government that express the free will of the people. Towards this end, they should agree upon a specific programme and action plan with clearly set targets and timeframes for reaching them. A national consensus over the need to sustain the revolution must entail a commitment on the part of all relevant parties, whether SCAF and the newly elected People's Assembly or the Revolutionary Youth and other political forces, to work together until they achieve their collective objectives. The following should be among their foremost priorities: - The creation of a constitutional commission as soon as Shura Council elections are over. - Setting into motion the presidential elections procedures. The nominations process should be declared open once Shura Council elections are over and a timetable should be set to ensure that these elections are held and the handover of power to the newly elected presidential authority takes place by no later than April 2012. - Purging government institutions of the remnants of the former regime, with particular attention to state security agencies, the state media, governorate and municipal government agencies, and university boards of directors. - A decisive halt to the prosecution of civilians in military courts, the immediate release of those sentenced by these tribunals, and the retrial of those persons before normal courts. - The creation of a just wage structure that stipulates a reasonable minimum wage that will ensure a dignified life for a family of four, as well as a maximum salary that should not exceed 15 times the amount of the minimum wage. - Increasing public allocations for essential services so as to alleviate the strains on people with fixed income. Particular attention should be given to education, healthcare and public housing. - Revising certain laws that directly affect quality of life and essential rights and freedoms, such as the Syndicate Freedoms Law, the Social Insurance Law, the Health Insurance Law, the Freedom of Access to Information Law, the NGO Law and the Labour Law. - Freeing the public media from government control and ensuring that the state media is run democratically and reflects all shades of opinion in society. - Reforming the system of local government so as to enable the people to manage their local affairs (public services, utilities, local development) by themselves. - Putting a halt to the privatisation programme and recuperating public sector companies that were sold off in an unethical manner. - Designing a comprehensive strategy for the management and development of the public sector in accordance with sound economic principles. This strategy should be part of a larger plan to rebuild and enhance the performance of the national economy. Such a strategy must promote the full participation of the private, public and cooperative sectors in pumping fresh investment into the economy to enable it to meet the needs of the people and raise living standards in general. With consensus over continuing the revolution on the basis of an agreed upon programme for realising its major objectives, we could turn 25 January 2012 into a day of national harmony rather than an occasion for tension and conflict. * The writer is a member of the Socialist Popular Alliance (SPA).
