EGYPT: Mubarak promises more democracy

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

CAIRO, 28 Sep 2005 (IRIN) - Hosni Mubarak was sworn in before the Egyptian parliament on Tuesday for a fifth term as president, promising to implement his campaign promises, including creating more jobs and building democracy in Egypt.

"I will work together with the next parliament to bring about more political and economic reforms to enhance democracy and to liberalise the country’s economy," said Mubarak in his speech following the swearing-in ceremony.

On 7 September, Mubarak won the first ever contested presidential elections in Egypt, following his decision to open the contest to multiple candidates. He won over 88 percent of the votes cast, while his closest challenger, parliamentarian Ayman Nour who was present at the ceremony, got 7 percent.

The election, however, was marred by a low turnout, only 23 percent, and accusations of fraud and vote rigging.

Mubarak ran on a platform of increased political and economic reform, promising to provide 4.5 million jobs in the next six years to a country racked by unemployment. Many of his campaign promises echoed longstanding demands of the opposition.

In his speech, Mubarak stated that a strong Egypt is more than just a strong army and active diplomacy. "I mean to say a strong Egypt with its democracy, its active parliament, active government and a judiciary that guarantees the supremacy of the law," he said.

"I also mean human rights, and support the cause of women and their active participation in all walks of life," he added.

Political analysts on state television were quick to leap on these sentences to state that the president was serious about political reform and women’s rights. Hisham Kassem, a long time civil society activist and the deputy publisher of the independent al-Masri al-Youm dismissed it as just a routine speech.

"It is just the usual formal thing," he said. Other observers, however, have noted that the constant repetition of the same themes may yet mean they will actually be implemented.

One group that wasn’t convinced by the president’s speech was the Kifaya (enough) movement, a loose coalition of leftist, liberal and Islamist trends that held a demonstration Tuesday evening.

Nearly 1,000 people marched through downtown Cairo chanting "batil", which roughly translates to "null" or "bogus" in reference to both the election results and the president’s promises.

Protesters carried balloons, beat drums and blew whistles calling for Mubarak’s downfall.

"Six million said yes, 70 million said no!" they chanted, in reference to the millions of Egyptians that didn’t vote for Mubarak (or anyone for that matter). Kifaya called for a boycotting of the presidential election on the grounds that the strict conditions for candidates prevented any real competition to the president. Most analysts attribute to the low turnout to widespread political apathy.

The movement has held a number of small, yet symbolic, demonstrations calling for the end of the Mubarak regime over the last year. In the past, these demonstrations were either heavily circumscribed by riot police or actively dispersed.

Since the elections, however, the police presence has been very light and people have been allowed to join the demonstrators as they freely march through the city streets.

[ENDS]