CAIRO - The parliamentary elections, due to be held next November, constitute the main theme in several soap operas being aired on television during this year's holy fasting month of Ramadan. However, the presidential elections, due next year, are nowhere. Perhaps uncertainty about the presidential election candidates and how things might develop have persuaded producers to play it safe by ignoring these particular elections, which are sure to be a very important chapter in Egypt's modern history. It is also said that the electoral atmosphere found in this year's Ramadan television dramas can be attributed to producers who have political hues and visions that harm the pride and test the accountability of senior officials in the ruling party. Most of these serials are stuffed with an anti-ruling party elements, who, if not brought under strict control, will run amok in the city's streets. Everybody's guessing that the producers have been prodding the scriptwriters to jot down political indicators and suggestions against the National Democratic Party and its Government. Some of these serials vividly display the dirty games and treacherous manoeuvres planned in the corridors of the party's headquarters before being announced to supporters outside. This Ramadan's serials remind viewers of the tradition of wealthy candidates turning up in old, poor areas to distribute margarine, clean water, flour, salt, etc., only to disappear after they win a parliamentary seat. “These scenes show how unfaithful and treacherous candidates running in parliamentary elections are,” says one young man, speaking, unsurprisingly, on condition of anonymity. It seems that much of the fire is directed at the NDP's nominees, depicted as corrupt people, who extort support from downtrodden voters. Serials, such as Al-Kebir Awi (The Absolute), starring comedian Ahmed Mekki, are harshly critical of politicians and voters, albeit in a comic fashion. “Well-planned comedy helps everybody, including the director and the producer, to convey their political message without provoking or challenging the viewers' intelligence,” adds the young man, a mathematics teacher. For example, in the Al-Kabir Awi, residents in an Upper Egyptian village rebel against their ageing chieftain and decided their support for an American guy called John in the general elections. Meanwhile, Al-Ataba Al-Hamra (The Red Threshold) another TV serial, displays the clash of titans in the form of MPs and candidates. Al-Ataba Al-Hamra also highlights the sufferings of the downtrodden and poor, who have no choice but to keep waiting and waiting for the candidates to fulfill the promises and pledges they make at election time. Filmmakers and television directors agree that the political agitation Egypt is witnessing has encouraged scriptwriters to relinquish their anxieties and use their talent to write comedies or melodramas, which insult the Government and regular runners in the parliamentary elections. Rigged elections are also the main theme in Azmet Sokar (Sokar Crisis), starring comedian Ahmed Eid, which also implies that notorious land-grabbers and big-time thieves can easily be spotted among MPs.
