The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) isn't telling the truth when it declares that it is determined to reduce poverty in Egypt - otherwise it would lose millions of supporters, who can dramatically swing the balance in its favour in general elections. In other words, poor citizens are the NDP's reserves, called upon to play their seasonal role during the election battle. Moreover, these extraordinary reserves are the NDP's sacrificial victims when the battle gets tough, getting caught in the violence. Two-thirds of the nation are living below the poverty line and, the greater the number of poor voters, the bigger the ruling party's majority in any election battle, in order to ensure an oppositionproof Parliament. That is why most of the NDP's candidates, who have been competing in legislative elections for decades, are wealthy, while rich businesspeople and fat cats of industry are appointed to steer the NDP's decision-making and tactics during the elections. The ruling party's deliberate betrayal, in collaboration with its Government, of the prospects of its poor citizens was highlighted in last Sunday's voting. Immediately after the doors of the polling stations were thrown open, the poor ‘reserves' went on the offensive, with each reservist paid LE50 (about $9) for his vote. Weak protests that the ‘reward' was too little to buy a good meal for a fourmember family were ignored by the arrogant accountants assigned by the wealthy candidates to distribute the cash. Some poor voters had to settle for only LE20. Showing ‘temporary' signs of empathy, the rich candidates (the night before the voting took place) told the bewildered voters that the LE50 (or LE20) wasn't a bribe. “This money is just one of the handouts your kind candidate gives you on certain occasions,” one candidate's accountant slyly told his lowly voters. But not every poor voter had LE50 or even LE20 in his pocket when he had completed his mission and walked home (to save the bus fare) on Sunday. Some of them were deceived by the candidates' dishonest accountants. I saw for myself how disappointed four poor women were in the Khalifa and Mokkatam constituencies in southern Cairo. The women had been approached by an assistant, who promised them LE20 each to vote for his candidate. Clutching at least a dozen, dirty-faced and poorly shod children, the mothers failed to convince the assistants to increase their sops. Rather, he even refused to pay them their LE20 in advance. Anyway, accepting the offer, they disappeared inside the voting station, before the heartless assistant changed his mind. Emerging from the building and holding up their inked thumbs for all to see, the women discovered that the man had disappeared. They searched for him everywhere for more than two hours and wept because they'd been cheated. In the meantime, dismissing this financial aid as ‘religiously condemned' bribery, bearded, white galabiya-sportin members of the Muslim Brotherhood tempted the electorate with metaphysical rewards, conjuring up images of hedonistic pleasures poor voters would enjoy in Paradise, if they showed their devotion to the guardians of their faith - the fundamentalist candidates. The religiously and politically controversial vote-for-money system first emerged in Egypt about two decades ago, when poverty really started to bite here. Poor families with lots of children are happy at election time, because lots of children means lots of votes that can be sold. Poor people, who are mostly illiterate, are far more eager than the intellectual community to vote on Election Day, hoping for a financial reward, irrespective of the candidate's history and integrity. Paradoxically, it is the poor and illiterate citizens who control developments in the political street in the country. If life were to improve for the poor, the ruling party would struggle to buy votes. But it needn't worry - the Government's economic policies aren't designed to benefit the poor. In other words, their numbers and their influence in the country's political life are bound to increase.
