CAIRO - Whether to put the cart before the horse is at the centre of a heated debate over the presidential and parliamentary elections. The constitutional puzzle has emerged since President Mubarak was toppled and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) took over; the Constitution was suspended and key amendments to nine articles were approved in a referendum on March 19. The debate slowed days before the referendum, only for the great support for constitutional changes to reignite the dispute, especially after the SCAF announced that parliamentary elections will be held in September, to be followed by presidential elections. The politicians, lawmakers, democratic movements and human rights organisations that supported the January 25 revolution would like to see presidential elections first. They believe that the political parties which were deliberately weakened by Mubarak's regime need some lubrication in order to compete effectively in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. They insist that these parties need more time to come to terms with the new reality in the political street. They need to mine for new resources, human or otherwise, before they are ready to throw down the gauntlet to their opponents in the elections. Sources inside the headquarters of these parties are still afraid of the awful spectre of the moribund National Democratic Party (NDP) that looms over their heads. With the help of lots of money and a brutal security agency, the NDP, led by Mubarak, monopolised political life in Egypt. There are real fears that loyal NDP members and officials are lurking in the shadows, ready to bounce back during the parliamentary elections due in September. The former Chairman of Al-Wafd opposition party says that the new Parliament in September will not reflect the reality of political life in Egypt, while the presidential elections will help reinvigorate spent political forces. Mahmoud Abaza's opinion is supported by a professor of political sciences at Cairo University Moustafa Kamel who argues that the new president should not belong to any of the country's political parties. “None of the people who have revealed their plans to run for the presidency is a member of any political party. The election of anyone of these nominees would help stimulate the political parties and democratic movements. “Such a president will also implement the proposed political reforms,” says Prof. Kamel. These nervous parties might want a presidential election first, but this would compel the Armed Forces to stay longer than promised in the streets. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has promised to run the nation (in the absence of a parliament and a president) for no more than six months before a civil government takes the helm. The Army should be concentrating on guarding the nation's borders, which is why the General-Secretary of the Nasserist Party (named after late President Gamal Abdel-Nasser) wants parliamentary elections first. “That would allow the soldiers to return to their barracks as soon as possible,” says Ahmed Hassan. “We should help relieve the Army of its burden [running the nation in the absence of a parliament and a president].”
