A bitter competition has broken out between well-funded television channels to arrange a televised debate between Mohamed Morsi and Ahmed Shafiq, who are preparing for the presidential election runoff on June 16 and17. However, managers of these television channels are on tenterhooks over whether their 'impossible task' will be achieved. Uncertainty overwhelming these channels led by Orbit and Al-Hayat increased after officials in Dream Channel warned that these two opponents in particular had rejected bids to take part in a televised debate weeks before the first round of the presidential elections had taken place on May 23. Morsi, who was fielded for the presidency by the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party qualified for the runoff by obtaining 5.6 million voters (about 24.8 per cent of the vote) followed narrowly by Shafiq, who obtained 5.4 million votes (about 23.9 per cent). Journalist Hamdeen Sabahi beat the odds when he obtained 4.6 million votes followed by Islamist Abdel-Moneim Abul-Futouh, who obtained 3.9 million votes. Informed of desperate attempts by major television channels to host the two forerunners, the local press quoted Tareq Younis, editor-in-chief of Orbit's ‘Cairo Today programme as saying that although he had contacted them several times neither of the two candidates' phone numbers had flashed up on his mobile yet. Refusing to lose heart, Younis said that he was expecting an answer at any moment. On the other hand, Al-Hayat's officials did not count much on the proposed televised debate to have deals with heavyweight advertising agencies. Apparently, learning the lesson from an unprecedented televised debate staged earlier between the two candidates former Foreign Minister and Arab League head Amr Moussa, and Arab Medical Union leader Dr Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, an Islamist. The unprecedented debate was jointly organised and broadcast by Dream and On TV. An exchange of insulting accusations over their past resulted in, denied both the support of millions of viewers in the first round of the presidential elections. According to the results of the first round, Abul-Fotouh came third and Mousa was sent cruelly to the fifth position. Observers, moreover, indicated that the winner from the miserable Mousa-Abul Futouh television debate was journalist Hamdin Sabahi, who came in behind Morsi and Shafiq respectively. The debacle of Abul-Fotuh and Moussa must be slowing down the enthusiasm of Morsi and Shafiq to come forward and lock their horns in front of million of viewers preparing to cast their ballots in the runoff. The official television board seems to have relinquished the idea of a Morsi-Shafiq televised debate. Reliable sources are suggesting that Egyptian State Television is preparing an independent 90-minute documentaries and interviews with Morsi and Shafiq. The seeming reluctance of Morsi and Shafiq, however, has not prevented Ibrahim el-Sayad, chief of Egyptian TV's News Sector, from meeting Minister of Information Ahmed Anis to examine the possibility of persuading the two political arch-foes to display their ambitions, qualifications and experience in front of Egyptian TV viewers. Press sources this week said that, receiving the green light from his Minister, el-Sayaad has already rung Morsi and Shafiq. But the sources did not say whether el-Sayad's phone call was reciprocated. Officials in Al-Nehar Television and CBC are not optimistic that they will achieve the impossible.
