Mubarak returning to parliament after having to interrupt his speech

By Abdul Raheem Ali, IOL Staff

CAIRO, November 22 (IslamOnline.net) - Renowned Egyptian analysts agreed that there is a dire need to launch a sweeping campaign of political and constitutional reforms in Egypt rather than being locked in waste-of-time talks on a possible vice President for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The remarks came after President Mubarak had suffered a minor health problem during a joint parliamentary session on Wednesday, November 19.

"Mubarak's indisposition cast a harsh light on the importance of introducing constitutional reforms, especially those articles which entitle the President to enormous powers and prerogatives," Secretary General of the Egyptian Human Rights Organization, Hafez Abu Sa'da, told IslamOnlin.net Saturday, November 22.

"Such prerogatives make the country's political system centers on the President whose absence only for a couple of minutes could create shock waves nationwide."

"Those who over and over again call for appointing a vice President for Mubarak are inadvertently derailing the country's democratic process and helping freeze the status quo for years to come," Sa'da added.

Mubarak has never named a vice President, the route he and his predecessor Anwar al-Sadat took to become head of state.

Sa'da' also goes for adopting France's political system under which a party leader is elected Prime Minister by a clear majority of the Members of Parliament, while the President is chosen through a free and direct nationwide referendum.

"That's the only way for a peaceful transition of power in Egypt," he said.

'Political Fragility'

Jihad Ouda, professor of International Relations in Helwan University said the President's indisposition has surfaced the fragility of the political institutions in Egypt, including political parties "which are the bedrock of any country".

Ouda called for putting forward "pragmatic solutions" to enhance the role of the political institutions in the country "which pave the way for democracy, the only way to achieve political stability in Egypt".

He downplayed warnings of not naming an Egyptian vice-President to date.

"The Egyptian Constitution does guarantee an orderly power transition, but the main problem lies in how to uphold such a transition, which can only be endorsed in a democracy," he explained.

Radical Change

But Wahid Abdul Magid, at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, defended the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), asserting that it has been bolstering the political institutions for more than three years.

"Thanks to the earnest efforts made by President Mubarak, who has been trying to revive the political life in the country, the NDP has made a radical change from being the government's party to the ruling party in the broad sense of the word," he argued.

"Now we have a ruling party which changed from defending the government all along to holding it accountable and drawing up its policies," he added.

No Room For Democracy

But Dr. Milad Hana, a famed intellectual, begged to differ with Magid, arguing that the NDP has been dominating Egypt's political landscape since the mid 1970s.

"It makes no room for democracy or political plurality, which is the essence of democracy as a point of fact," he told IOL.

Hana further put forward his wind of change which can be brought about by President Mubarak himself, pure and simple.

"President Mubarak should, after a recovery, make it clear that he would run for a fifth term in office and lay down the foundation of a new political system based on plurality and democracy.

"To that end, the President should first get rid of some of his aides, who are the main culprit for the current situation, which serves best their personal interests," he said.

"In doing so, Mubarak will go down in history as a great leader and go up in the eyes of his people."

Under Custodianship

However, Dr. Gamal Zahran, professor of politics in Suez Canal University, hailed Mubarak's insistence on not naming a vice-President so far, arguing that in doing so the President would have "placed his people under custodianship".

"We are racing against time and need to draft a new constitution or at least make key amendments to the existing one," he told IOL.

"If there are really good intentions of making a change, why on earth we stayed the same course for more than 20 years?" He wondered.