ELECTIONS IN EGYPT: EGYPTIAN MEDIA THEMES,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 006508

SIPDIS

NEA/PD FOR FRANK FINVER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PTER KPAO KMDR OPRC UK AL AG EG
SUBJECT: ELECTIONS IN EGYPT: EGYPTIAN MEDIA THEMES,
AUGUST 15 TO 21


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Summary
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1. Commentaries this past week indicate that many
educated Egyptians think that the presidential
elections next month, even if the results are a
foregone conclusion, will be a rehearsal for the
parliamentary ones next November and a healthy
experience for the body politic. The Ghad Party's
supposed overture to the Muslim Brotherhood, and the
statements of support for Mubarak issued by the Coptic
Pope and the Sheikh of Al Azhar also prompted
commentary last week. The complaint that the United
States intends to monitor the upcoming elections
continued to be a source of concern, most articles
taking the position that Egyptians could handle an
election by themselves without outside interference.
All Egyptian media followed the withdrawal of settlers
from Gaza with rapt attention but commentaries on the
significance of the events were few and muted. End
summary.

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Presidential elections are a rehearsal for the
parliamentary ones and are good for the body politic
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2. Dream TV, on August 21, hosted Noman Gomaa, the
Wafd Party chairman, who noted that although it would
be very difficult for him to win in the presidential
elections, his party would concentrate its real
efforts on victories in the parliamentary ones. On
Egyptian TV's popular "Al Bayt Betak" (Make Yourself
at Home) talk show of August 21, a university
professor praised the elections as being a "good
experience" for the Egyptian people. On August 16,
The vice editor of pro-government Al Musawwar magazine
(circulation; 50,000) said on TV Channel Two's talk
show Milaffat Maftouha (Open Files) that talk about
reform is no longer confined to intellectual or elite
circles but is now widespread among all people. On
August 15, a columnist in opposition Al Wafd newspaper
(circulation: 180,000) said that the opposition
parties, even if they think the election results might
be a forgone conclusion, should view the elections as
an opportunity to win their base among ordinary
people. In pro-government Al Akhbar newspaper
(circulation: 780,000),on August 21, former editor-
in-chief Galal Doweidar asserted that the empowerment
of the people is the main benefit of the presidential
elections. Echoing the same sentiment, an unsigned
editorial in pro-government Al Gomhouriya
(circulation: 200,000),August 19, argued that the
upcoming "free" elections would enable the political
parties to gauge their weight on the street and work
on increasing their share of the votes in future
elections.

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Religion should stay out of it
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3. Al Gomhouriya newspaper, on August 15, reported
that Ghad Party Chairman Ayman Nour had visited Muslim
Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mahdy Akef to solicit
support in the upcoming elections. In an obvious
reference to this visit, moderate independent paper
Nahdet Misr (circulation: 20,000),on August 15,
criticized presidential candidates (i.e., Ayman Nour)
who "deceived" the public when they claimed to be
"liberals" who rejected playing the religion card in
politics, but who went to kiss the hand of the Supreme
Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, all the while
declaring that they wanted to establish an American-
style system of government. Al Gomhouriya, on August
19, noted that the Supreme Mufti of Al-Azhar had
praised Egypt's style of democracy and had remarked
that anyone who does not vote would be considered a
"sinner." On the TV talk show El Haqiqa (The Truth),
August 21, a prominent Coptic intellectual said that
any involvement in politics by religious officials was
wrong, including Coptic Pope Shenouda's announcement
of support for Mubarak.

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No need for foreign election monitoring; we can do it
ourselves
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4. On Egyptian TV Channel One's Malaff Khass (Special
File) talk show, August 15, well-known writer Salah
Montasser said Egypt's elections would be a model for
the whole region, and that international supervision
is unnecessary as there are many TV channels that have
trained their reporters to cover such events, not to
mention international TV coverage, press, and "secret
elements" that surely would be present. Al
Gomhouriya, on August 15, quoted the spokesman of the
Presidential Election Commission saying that every
candidate has the right to appoint a deputy in every
polling station. On August 20, pro-government
newspaper Al Akhbar (circulation: 780,000) and Al Wafd
newspaper reported that the Judges' Club had sent a
memorandum to the Presidential Election Commission
stressing the need to assign a judge for every ballot
box in all polling stations. The Club also said it is
the right of civil society groups to monitor the
electoral process. In the same article, Al Akhbar
and Al Wafd also reported that the head of the Judges'
Club had refused to meet with a U.S. Congressional
delegation and had also condemned American attempts to
"check up" on democracy in Egypt and "teach it" to
Egyptians. (Note: No such meeting had been
requested. End note.) Al Akhbar, on August 20,
proclaimed that all Egyptian presidential candidates,
including President Mubarak, had rejected
international monitoring of elections and that they
were all confident that the elections would be fair
without any foreign supervision. Pan-Arab newspaper
Al Sharq Al Awsat (estimated circulation in Egypt:
5,000) reported on August 19 that some civil society
groups had decided to file a lawsuit with the
Administrative Court against the head of the
Presidential Election Commission for turning down
their request to monitor the elections.

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Gaza withdrawal; not such a big deal
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5. Although media coverage was extensive,
commentaries on the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza were
relatively few and muted. On August 15, Nile TV's
talk show "Open to Question" focused on events in
Gaza. The prime guest, Ambassador Fathi El-Shazli,
said that the withdrawal was "significant" but was not
of "historical" significance. He opined that even
though Gaza was tantamount to a "prison" for the
Palestinians, it would nevertheless provide them with
scope to improve their situation. In Al Wafd
newspaper (circulation: 180,000),on August 20, anti-
U.S. and anti-Israel columnist Sanaa Al-Said made
light of the Gaza withdrawal. She said that Israel
would not withdraw from any of the other occupied
territories and that an unsupportable burden would be
put on the shoulders of the Palestinians that would
frustrate their efforts to oblige Israel to withdraw
from the rest of the territories.

Jones