The recent upheaval with the opposition in Egypt has left many wondering whether there can ever be a legitimate opposition. With the ruling National Democratic Party maintaining a stranglehold on politics in the country and opposition groups falling into internal strife, one begins to wonder where the country is heading. However, upon closer inspection, it appears that Egyptian parties can learn a lot from the United States. If they don’t, there will never be a force able to challenge president Hosni Mubarak and his party.
Since the first multicandidate presidential election in September 2005, the two highest vote getters behind Mubarak found themselves in prison in April.
Ayman Nour, the chairman for El-Ghad and a distant runner-up in the September elections, is still in jail serving a five-year term for alleged corruption.
Noaman Gomaa, who finished third in the election, recently stormed the party headquarters of Al-Wafd (where he served as head for six years) shooting up his old stomping grounds. He was being held for 45 days while an investigation was conducted, but was released due to health reasons on bail.
The two leading opposition figures in Egypt are gone, behind bars. One newspaper was quoted as saying, “with Nour in jail, so goes the opposition.” While this statement is probably not true, it highlights the fact that Egyptians have become disillusioned with the opposition. There is no longer a real force in the country that is able to counter the power and strength of the NDP.
Over the course of the past month, Egypt has seen a glimmer of hope come out of an unknown place: blogs. Alaa of www.manalaa.net, who received international recognition for freedom of speech and expression by Reporters Without Borders, was recently detained and imprisoned during a protest in support of the judiciary. He is currently being held for a second 15-day period in an Egyptian prison. His detainment has galvanized many Egyptians to head to the streets in support of reform and change. However, it remains to be seen if a party will be able to pick up on that support and lead the country towards a new future.
The reason there isn’t a legitimate opposition party is because there are simply way too many parties in the country to build a base of support. To make this understandable, let us look at the American political system to show this. If, let’s say, the Republican Party held more than 75 percent of all seats in the House and Senate and the rest of the seats were split between more than 10 parties, this would be Egypt. There is nothing one party could do to overcome the monopoly of the Republican Party if that were the case.
Therefore, Egypt must follow the American model. They need to form one, maybe two, parties instead of holding onto parties that have no chance of making a dent in the system. A consolidation of power is needed among opposition groups if they are going to have a chance in any upcoming election.
While multi-party systems of government allow for more pluralism and a broader range of views, one-party systems allow for one thing: nothing. In Egypt, the NDP can do whatever it desires without fear of a backlash because the opposition groups are unable to put up a real fight. Egyptians no longer see opposition groups as a means to take back their country. Instead, what they see is infighting and lip service without any results.
That being said, what Egypt needs is an Andrew Jackson, the American president who basically did away with multiple parties and helped form the two-party system now established in the U.S. The Egyptian Jackson can then bring together multiple parties under one umbrella party, which would have the necessary constituency needed to combat the power hold of the NDP. People in Egypt would begin to see that they could make change a reality and improve their lives, politically and economically.
Although this is probably a task in itself to ask of the Egyptian political sphere, it is a necessary route they must take if they truly want to change things in this country. They need to look to America as an example of how political parties should be established. Everyone deserves the right to establish a party, but if it is so ineffective that nothing can come from it, what is the point?
Egypt can no longer afford to have their opposition groups bickering among each other if they want to make a run for the presidency. They need to understand the realities on the ground and come together as one. This would allow them to establish a party worthy of challenging the NDP.
What Egypt wants, but is afraid to admit, is a system where two parties are in power. Egypt needs a Democratic Party to battle the Republicans.
Joseph Mayton is Contributing Editor at The Daily Star Egypt.
