Egypt: Political Parties Prepare for Upcoming Elections

The Revolutionary Youth Council announced that it would present a list of 200 candidates spanning all of Egypt’s governorates in the upcoming parliamentary elections. During their press conference at the Cairo Syndicate of Journalists, the RYC “also called for the creation of an electoral coalition of revolutionaries to fight members of the old regime who are trying to stay in power in post-Mubarak Egypt.” The RYC’s statements came amid debate about political parties, the electoral system, and prospects for a sustainable democracy in general, including Emad Mekay‘s article about the efforts of Islamists to “reach out to wary secularists.”

Kevin Russel argues that Egypt’s first elected government will “almost certainly fail,” and that in order for democracy to survive, the elections must produce alternatives, and most importantly, dynamic debate. A focus on institutional reform, Russel posits, could produce this ongoing debate, and in turn, sustain democracy. The recent teacher’s strikes demanding reform of the education system may be one symptom of such a debate.