People's Assembly speaker Fathi Sorour praises the latest parliamentary session as a milestone on the road to democracy. Many disagree, writes Gamal Essam El-Din Parliament may have been in recess for two weeks now but the speaker's report summarising the People's Assembly's last session (2006/2007) remains the subject of controversy. Speaker Fathi Sorour may have marshalled statistics and figures in the report to highlight the assembly's performance in terms of its legislative and supervisory achievements, yet independent analysts and observers say they do not tell the whole story. The assembly, they say, is destined to remain toothless as long as the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) occupies a majority of seats. Addressing the assembly on 21 June, Sorour showered praise on its performance and its role as government watchdog. The speaker cited a long list of sessions, that took place by day and night, in which new laws and constitutional amendments were debated and endorsed. "These debates represent a milestone of the parliamentary path, reflecting belief in democracy, active participation and the principle of citizenship," said Sorour. He noted that the assembly had passed 153 laws, compared with 146 in its previous session. Of these, 103 dealt with financial and budgetary matters, with the rest covering political and socio-economic issues. Sorour boasted that during the last session the assembly had taken the issues of political reform and democratisation by the horns, "passing five important political laws and making historic amendments to 34 articles of the constitution". In contrast, many political commentators, joined by opposition and independent MPs, argue that in its most recent session the assembly has shown itself to be impotent. "This became clear in the debates over constitutional amendments, with the speaker and government MPs acting together to enforce the NDP line," says Gamal Zahran, an independent MP and professor of political science at the Suez Canal University. The debates over constitutional amendments were, says Zahran, autocratic rather than democratic. "NDP MPs were mobilised to stymie attempts by opposition and independents to influence the amendments." The speaker, he added, facing a hostile press, steamrolled the debate, allowing just two days of discussion. It was a tactic, says Zahran, repeated in the final two months of the parliamentary session when a series of controversial legislation was rammed through the assembly. "Rather than being a step on the road to democracy, new laws forced through parliament with a minimum of debate represent a setback for political reform," he says, with legislation eliminating full judicial supervision of elections topping the list. Zahran also charges that the legislation that followed in the wake of changes to Article 179, allowing civilians to be referred to military courts, represents a slide towards a police state. The Arab Strategic Report, published by Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS), notes that when faced with sensitive legislation, NDP deputies "are instructed to give automatic approval to laws drafted by the Policies Committee headed by the president's son Gamal Mubarak". Amr Hashem Rabie, a researcher with ACPSS, believes parliamentary discussion of the constitutional amendments and associated political laws was systematically weighted in favour of the positions adopted by NDP leaders, particularly President Hosni Mubarak, his son and clique of wealthy businessmen who now dominate the party. "The constitutional amendments were tailored to maintain the status quo rather than rebuild Egypt's political infrastructure and relieve it of sclerosis," says Rabie. He notes that of the 103 laws proposed by independent and opposition MPs, not one was approved by the NDP-dominated assembly. "Although MPs are granted the right to propose legislation the NDP effectively blocks this right. In the outgoing session, every proposal by leftist or Muslim Brotherhood MPs was blocked. The only bill members approved, submitted by NDP MPs, was that concerning extending the retirement age of judges from 68 to 70. The law was submitted as a private bill only because the government knew a majority of judges opposed it." Despite such criticisms, Sorour insists the assembly fulfilled its role as an objective watchdog of the government, pointing to the 1876 requests submitted for information from government ministers, and the 28 interpellations (questions that must be answered by cabinet ministers) discussed. "The number of interpellations is unprecedented," said Sorour. "They covered important and vital issues such as unemployment, privatisation, environmental pollution, poor health services, transport accidents and the sinking of a ferry in the Red Sea." Zahran, though, points to the 100 interpellations rejected for discussion. They addressed, among other concerns, torture in police stations and prison cells, the rigging of elections, relations with Israel, the poor performance of Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul- Gheit, and corruption among senior officials, including former housing minister Ibrahim Suleiman. "Sorour and the NDP manipulate interpellations to cushion any serious criticism of the government," says Zahran.
