CAIRO - If elected president, Hesham el-Bastawisy, a judge-cum-political activist, will start his ambitious programme for transforming Egypt into an advanced country from classrooms and courtrooms. When he faced hundreds of Egyptians at the Nile-side el-Sawy Cultural Centre in the luxury island of Zamalek at the weekend, el-Bastawisy said to be a viable democracy, Egypt had to have an educational system that taps in the skills of the learners to the full and a judiciary that offers no space for state intervention. "The appointment of judges has to be a transparent process,” el-Bastawisy, 59, said. “Our schools must give the learners the chance to get practically involved in the job market,” he added amid cheers from the audience, most of them were young people who in their desire to listen to him were searching for their perfect president. Bespectacled el-Bastawisy was actively and honestly explaining and waving with his hands. Some of his audience were charmed, others were encouraged to ask about whether he can be their ideal candidate. "His programme is wonderful,” said Fayza Kamel, a civil engineer and one of the audience at the rally. “It focuses on real needs of society, such as social justice, education, and health,” she told The Egyptian Gazette. Some other people admired the way el-Bastawisy defended his case in front of this large number of people. He was neither pretentious nor pompous in asserting that what he mentioned was what Egypt really needed. But this is the very man who challenged Mubarak and his armies of state security personnel in 2005 when he confronted vote-riggers from the ruling party together with a colleague of his. Although he knew that he was risking his job and also his personal safety, el-Bastawisy could not keep silent while the votes were rigged for the same candidates of Mubarak's party. And when Mubarak stepped down last February, el-Bastawisy found it unnecessary to criticise his rule when a private satellite TV host asked him to give his opinion about that in a telling sign of his nobleness. Now, however, el-Bastawisy, the deputy chief of the Cassation Court, has fears about the way Egypt's transition to democracy is happening. He said he had hopes that Egyptians would be able to make their own constitution even before the next Parliament is formed. “One reason for preferring the constitution before Parliament is that the next Parliament will never be a representative of the whole society if it is formed according to the current rules,” he said. “A constitutional assembly must be formed by the nation's political powers to make this constitution,” he added. El-Bastawisy said the absence of a clear timeline for the transitional phase filled him with worries as well. Although most of the people who listened to him at this gathering shook their heads in agreement, there were some sceptics. Some of the attendees said el-Bastawisy was great at the personal level, but this was not enough to make a good president. What made it even more difficult for some people to have a fixed view on whoever they are going to vote for in the next presidential elections was that there was a large number of equally good candidates as well. Mohamed el-Baradie, the former head of the atomic energy watchdog will run for president as well as Amr Moussa who was an admired foreign minister for years and later became the head of the Arab League. Ayman Nour, a lawyer and one of the Mubarak's challengers for years, will also run for president, being equipped with a detailed platform that addresses the needs of Egyptians. “El-Bastawisy is perfect, but I need to wait and see other candidates,” said Salma el-Sayed, a Ministry of Education employee. “It is not easy to make up my mind now,” she added.
