CAIRO - Crestfallen Copts, who only won three seats in the new 508-seat People's Assembly (PA), are expecting the President of the Republic to boost their presence in Parliament. According to his constitutional power, the President of the Republic is entitled to independently appoint 10 MPs in the People's Assembly. His choice is usually dominated by women and Copts. But taking into consideration the fact that women have been given 64 seats exclusively in the new PA, Copts are hoping that they will constitute most of the appointees. Women's convenient presence in Parliament is the result of historical amendments made in the People's Assembly Law to allow them greater participation in the nation's political life. The Copts' Pyrrhic victory in this year's legislative elections has been met with harsh comments from outspoken Copts overseas. The three Coptic winners include Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros Ghali (Shoubra constituency in northern Cairo), Khaled el-Assiuti (el-Sabtiya and Qullaili constituency, near Ramses, also in Cairo) and Soleiman Sobhi (the Upper Egyptian town of Maragha in Sohag Governorate). The Coptic community in Egypt was allegedly disappointed when popular figures, belonging to big Coptic families in Cairo and Upper Egypt, were mercilessly eliminated in the election battle. They included Mrs Mona Makram Ebied and the multimillionaire Rami Lakah (in fact a Melchite Catholic, not a Copt), who had received support from the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Shenuda. A Coptic activist overseas was quoted in the local press as saying that the Government had 'massacred the Copts' in the elections battle. Mikael Munir added: “[The elimination of Copts from the election race] was a message sent by the Egyptian Government.” Munir lent his voice to Copt activists at home, who appealed to President Hosni Mubarak to amend the Election Law to run in accordance with the slate system. According to this system, which was abandoned decades ago in favour of individual candidacy, each political party submits a slate of candidates for the voters to tick collectively. Tharwat Bassili, an important figure in the Coptic Orthodox Church's Synod and also a key member of the ruling National Democratic Party, spoke to the press just hours after the landslide defeat. “Without the slate system, Copts will not perform strongly in any general elections,” he said, implying that the Muslims, who constitute the majority of voters, are able to swing the balance of votes in favour of Muslim candidates.
