Egypt's Parliamentary Polls: First Step on Long Road

Writer: Abdul Moneim Said

(The blogger may not agree to all the thoughts expressed in the article, yet it is a good model of  fair and balanced thinking and we appreciate it)

Regardless of who won or lost, successful completion of free parliamentary polls opens new chapter in country's historyAbdel Moneim Said , Wednesday 4 Jan 2012

Print Send Views: 205Democracy is at the door. When ballot boxes are sealed in the third round of Egypt’s first post-Mubarak parliamentary polls, a new chapter in the country’s history will have been written. It has not been an easy endeavour, and much of it requires closer inspection before an electoral system that is simpler, less complicated and less costly can be built. But that discussion can wait for another time.

What is important is that parliamentary polls have taken place; that Egypt has passed through the first bottleneck. Yes, it has come at a high price: there were those who attempted to obstruct the path, while others stayed home out of scepticism. But the majority made their voices heard and the outcome was beyond expectations.

The people sent a message to the “elite” that only the citizens – and not satellite television channels – will decide the nation’s destiny. The victorious majority also received a message after surviving for decades on a set of cohesive ideas that often seemed closed. Perhaps, in the entire history of Islamic political thought, there has never been the amount of flexibility, rationality and moderation as that seen within the past few days.

It is true that there were always Islamic thinkers who were moderate and flexible because they took the age and context into account when issuing rulings and edicts. Nonetheless, Islamic political movements could also be excessive, even terroristic at times. One need only compare the political platform of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2007 with the one it campaigned for during 2011elections. At the same time, recent developments and public statements all support the notion of conciliation between state and religion, Islamic culture and civic education.

Somehow, the building blocks hewn in recent decades are finally beginning to take final shape. For example, more than 30,000 civil society groups and institutions – dozens of which specialise in politics and human rights – suddenly went from merely criticising the former regime to focusing on how to tackle the many difficulties associated with applying democracy to the constitution and elections.

When I created a programme for opinion polling at the Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies in 1997, some accused us of high treason. Today, the Centre’s opinion polls are frequently quoted in the New York Times. When two of my colleagues, Diaa Rashwan and Gamal Abdel-Gawad, appeared on Canadian television to review the results of the third round of polling, I felt that my efforts had not been in vain. When democracy finally came to Egypt, there were Egyptian institutions ready with knowledge and expertise.

The road remains long. But as the saying goes, the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

(With thanks to the writer and also esteemed Arabic Daily Ahram)