A FEW days before Egyptians head to the polling stations on June 1 to pick members to fill 88 seats in the Upper House of the Parliament, a war of words has started to rage on this country's political stage. Chairman of the influential Policies Committee at the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) Gamal Mubarak, who is also the son of Egypt's President, seems to have decided to stop keeping silent while the opposition continues to grill his party that has been in power for 29 years for what it calls “its failures and mistakes”. “Over the years, political rivals used to mount their inimical campaigns against us whenever elections approached,” younger Mubarak, said. “We shouldn't be in the defensive all the time. We must confront the claims of the opposition by mentioning our record of achievements,” he added during an election rally in the Nile Delta Governorate of Daqahlia on Tuesday. Gamal, always the centre of attention at party meetings and gatherings, echoed the same desire to engage with the opposition during a recent convention of the ruling party. Addressing thousands of party members, Gamal, 46, challenged the opposition to be able to present what he called “practical” solutions for Egypt's problems. His colleagues in the higher echelons of the party, including steel baron and the chairman of the NDP Organisation Committee Ahmed Ezz, even challenged the opposition and the banned Muslim Brotherhood in particular to make it to the Parliament once more. The Brotherhood, whose candidates run as independents, managed to garner 88 seats in the Egyptian legislature in 2005, the thing that alarmed the ruling party and even made the international community shudder in fear at the political powerfulness of Egypt's Islamist opposition. “Party leaders and members must be on the offensive,” younger Mubarak said. “We've full record of achievements to talk about,” he added. Articulate and well-spoken as he always is, Gamal Mubarak seems to have left his observers in no doubt about the ruling party's determination to put the opposition on the spot. Some of these observers have even expected the party to allow for no real competition in the upcoming Shura Council elections. “The Egyptian regime is showing its true face by detaining group members and not giving candidates equal chances for campaigning,” wrote Essam el-Erian, a member of the Guidance command Office of the Muslim Brotherhood. “If the regime continues to do this, its hypocrisy will manifest itself clearly to the world,” he added in a recent article on the official website of the group (http://www.ikhwanonline.com/Articl.as p?ArtID=65345&SecID=0) (Arabic). El-Erian added that the Brotherhood decided to field candidates in the elections because the group has hopes for “real change” through participation that aims to bring about comprehensive reform. This desire for change is also what will motivate scores of activists from the protest Kefaya (Enough) group to stage a protest outside the Parliament on Election Day. The group has called on legislators, activists, and reform advocates to take part in the protest, which will be simultaneous with the elections. A total of 452 candidates, including 92 from the NDP, will compete over 88 seats in the Shura Council on June 1. “We're against systematic vote-rigging,” said Kefaya. “We're against taking power through fake elections,” it added in a statement on Wednesday.
