CAIRO - Sitting on a chair in a small room, which he proudly calls his office, holding his distinctive pen and thinking deeply, he's about to create another banner for a People's Assembly candidate. Ahmed Heikal, a calligrapher in Nasr City, makes a mint out of the 'election season'. Without these calligraphers, who work behind the scenes, the voters would never get acquainted with the candidates. When the elections come round every five years, it's high season for the calligraphers, bodyguards and others. "There are about 30 calligraphers in Nasr City,” says Heikal, who's been working in this field for the past 15 years. There are around 130 candidates in Nasr City alone, which keep the calligraphers pretty busy. "My philosophy is 'business means business'. Of course I'll make banners for candidates whose politics are different from mine, as I need the money,” he explains, adding that each candidate orders between 100 and 2,000 banners. The parliamentary elections in Egypt, the first since Hosni Mubarak's ousting, are just around the corner. The Parliament that will be elected will also be responsible for appointing the committee to draft the country's new Constitution, paving the way for presidential elections later on. Because the polls are nigh, the prices of the banners have skyrocketed. "At election time, the banners are 60 per cent more expensive than usual. Of course, the price also depends on the size, the number of colours used and the type of cloth," Heikal told The Egyptian Gazette in an interview. “Plastic banners look nice with their bright colours and nice pictures, but the handwritten banners are the real McCoy. They have a different soul from the printed ones and they are cheaper too. "The banners often get destroyed by rival candidates, which is obviously good for us, calligraphers," he added. Egypt's streets are full of banners, both the cloth and the plastic variety, as we are just days away from November 28. Calligraphy looks easy to do but it isn't. "Sometimes the candidate wants a verse written on his banner and that needs real talent and experience," Heikal explained. "We charge extra for this.” Bodyguards are also popular in the 'election season'. Every candidate wants bodyguards to look prestigious. "Bodyguards have been cashing in on the insecurity since the revolution," said Ayman Anwar, who works as contractor for bodyguards in Nasr City. "The candidates hire bodyguards to look prestigious and protect themselves from the other competitors," he told this newspaper. Egypt's parliamentary elections begin on November 28 and will be held in three stages. The new Parliament is due to convene in January 2012. “There are two types of bodyguards: private escorts who have often worked for ministers, and they are less experienced and therefore less expensive ones. But they all know how to handle guns and use knives. "The private escorts earn at least LE5,000 per month and the less experienced ones LE2,000," he explained, adding that the candidate must also feed his bodyguards and provide them with pocket money and medical care in case of injury; all this on top of their regular salary. "We don't get involved in politics ourselves," added Anwar, a law graduate. "A bodyguard must protect the man he works for, whatever his political persuasions.” He said that the candidates also employ hatifa, people who stand in front of them and make a lot of noise to persuade the public that these candidates are very popular. Bodyguards use their muscles, hatifa are their larynxes. Coffee shops also do very well at election time – when a candidate walks into a café and starts campaigning, he's obliged to buy all the customers tea, coffee or a soft drink. "Some candidates hold court in famous coffee shops, talking to voters for hours on end," Hisham Osman, a waiter, says. "They have to foot the bill for all the drinks of the clientele.” (US$ = LE 5.9)
