CAIRO: Groups on the social networking website Facebook, have recently sprung up to campaign for Gamal Mubarak, head of the ruling party's policies secretariat and son of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, for the upcoming elections at the Commerce Syndicate. "Together for electing accountant Gamal Mubarak as chairman of the Commerce Syndicate, is one of those groups. Yet despite the supportive appearance of these pro-Mubarak groups, they clearly opposes the idea of him succeeding his father as president. "The accountant Gamal Mubarak became Gamal the presidential candidate only because he is the son of the President, says Ahmed Emad, who created the Facebook group. "Only because we live in an authoritarian political regime which is undemocratic and where no political party or movement is allowed to operate freely . Gamal Mubarak became the candidate only because we are in Egypt and not for his qualifications. Mubarak graduated with a degree in business administration from the American University in Cairo. He has led a politically active career culminating with his senior position in the ruling National Democratic Party. There is a wide local, regional and international perception that he is being groomed to succeed his father as the president of Egypt. Emad then goes on to say that Mubarak is qualified to become the chairman of the Commerce Syndicate, noting that if it his father wasn't president, Mubarak would have been a banker and "if he's lucky and knows someone at OTV [an Egyptian satellite channel] he would be interviewed on its program 'Stock Exchange.' The slogan of Emad's campaign is "Gamal Mubarak and the Commerce Syndicate .the right man in the right place. The group, which has so far attracted 171 Facebook users, is linked to other related groups such as "We Don't Want Gamal Mubarak, which opposes Mubarak's possible election for president, has attracted more than 7,720 members, including political activists, most notably Ayman Nour, as well as journalists and writers. Facebook has become a forum for political expression in Egypt. In 2008, Facebook activists called for a nation-wide strike on April 6, causing a security frenzy, which led to the arrest of tens of activists including Esraa Abdel Fattah, who had created the group. "We are a repressed country; there are no forums for civic participation so people jump at any opportunity to speak their mind and voice their opinion, said Rasha Abdulla, assistant professor of journalism and mass communication at the American University in Cairo.
