Supporters for former head of UN nuclear watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei, who came back to Egypt earlier this year to lead a campaign to change the Constitution, Saturday urged passers-by to add their names to a pro-reform petition outside a police station in the coastal city of Alexandria. "We are here to send a message to both the Egyptian people and the police. For ordinary people, we say, come and join us for your country's interest, and for you own," said Ahmed Nassar, a lawyer as hev was holding the document. He added that the message for the police was that ElBaradei's supporters were working in the broad daylight. "Nothing is secret." ElBaradei returned to Egypt in February after 12 years as head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), energising the country's political scene. He formed the National Alliance for Change, of which Nasser is a member. The alliance, joined by 30 activists across Egypt's political scene, urges the Government to end the emergency, allow judicial supervision of elections, allow Egyptians abroad to vote amend the Constitution and making the presidency for two terms only. "The police tried to drive me away first. However, I insisted and the passers-by joined me. This made it difficult for them to stop me collecting the signatures," Nasser said. Political analysts say the chances of securing a constitutional change by next year are remote in Egypt, where the ruling National Democratic Party dominates political life. They said the Government was clearly aware ElBaradei, 67, was no ordinary political opponent. "The regime is clever this time because it knows that with ElBaradei the rules of the game are different," Yehia el-Gamal, legal expert and professor of law told Reuters. "International public opinion is following ElBaradei's every move so the Egyptian Government is being smart and behaving in an intelligent way," el-Gamal added. ElBaradei issued a public call for change in Egypt from the Delta city of Mansoura on Friday in defiance of an emergency law banning gatherings critical of the authorities. Plain clothes security officials stood by as ElBaradei, who has said he may run for president in an election due next year, urged around 700 people to add their names to a petition calling for reform.
