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When and how to apply democracy in Egypt?
Hossam Badrawi
The young man said: When and how can democracy be implemented in Egypt?
I said: There is no doubt that free and fair elections are the essence of democracy, and a necessary condition for it. However, they may produce governments that are incompetent and short-sighted, dominated by special interests, whether ideological or economic, and they may produce governments that are unable to adopt policies that advance society… But that is all. It may make them inefficient governments, not make them undemocratic.
So we have to realize the dangers of implementing democracy in an unstable climate or in the absence of the ability to choose, as a result of ignorance or poverty and ignorance at the same time.
Here your question becomes: when and how, more than important.
His colleague said: Does this mean that democracy is for the educated only?!
I said: Of course not, and the People’s Representation Council may be of two chambers, more important in Egypt than we think, provided that there are specific functions for each of them, the first is used to represent everyone, and the second is used to represent wisdom and knowledge and to establish legislative controls that prevent legislation or legislation from swinging The rush to satisfy the public, regardless of the country’s interest and its future, for the benefit of the beneficiaries from the status quo, or the electoral interest only.
Also, we must realize that what precedes the elections in terms of directing public opinion, especially if it is not immunized with science and knowledge, and attracting, intimidating or threatening it, affects the results of the elections. Added to this is the power of using political money to determine the course of choices in a society where the poverty rate is more than 30%.
As for what follows the election box, the elected’s respect for freedoms, the constitution, the law, the balance between powers, and being accountable, are essential in the implementation of democracy. The issue is not only an election box.
Perhaps the experience of the elections of Mr. Mohamed Morsi, representing the Muslim Brotherhood as president of Egypt, was a practical application of a democratic form that preceded and was followed by all the circumstances that you mentioned that kill democracy.
Perhaps, as I recall this, I should point out that everyone who attains power in a country that is not accustomed to democracy prepares for him that his presence is the only guarantor of the country’s safety and stability, and lives in the illusion that he is the only one with whom the state is cohesive, and the state agencies surrounding him and the media directed to deepen that compete. The feeling is for him and for a large section of the masses.
I saw that when I was a young man when President Gamal Abdel Nasser died, I lived it when President Anwar Sadat was assassinated, and I heard it with my own ears in my dialogue with President Mubarak, who told me that his exit from power would mean either the rule of the Brotherhood or the army taking over all powers. For the truth, I do not question the patriotism of any of them, but staying in power without a clear term deepens this idea and proves it in the conscience.
Another young man said: Is this a special situation for Egypt only?
I said: No, it is a general situation, and that in this situation that has occurred and is possible to repeat in Egypt and in other countries that have recently moved to democratic systems, the most important question is raised: Where lies the protective deterrent that ensures the righteousness, stability and sustainability of democracy? How can it be applied in our country?
In the West, deep-rooted traditions have taken root in protecting the autonomy of the individual, his rights and his dignity from coercion, whatever its source, whether by the state, the church, or even the majority of society, within a framework that protects the rights and liberties of minorities, because it is based on a marriage between democracy, freedom and order.
As for us, these axioms are still unstable within the framework of an educational and cultural system that does not develop this trend, nor does it make it stable in the societal conscience.
In our country, there is no clear institutional framework that prevents those who sit on the throne of power, even if they come with a free and fair popular will, or any government that comes within the framework of a real parliamentary majority, from crossing the bridge using the election box, and then to staying in power, under the pretext of public interest and stability, within the framework of an ideological view Especially, or fear of chaos, or a grouping of local, regional or international interests, or a religious framework that imposes on society a specific culture and prevents pluralism and citizenship.
I remind everyone that the constitution “the father of laws” was created to organize life in the state, and its role as a reference that society agreed upon grows when conflict occurs between factions. In moments of disagreement and revolutions, during which the most organized, the strongest financed, and the loudest are riding, the constitutional reference is greater and more important. However, when we are going through this moment, we are accustomed to dropping the reference and canceling the constitution, and the fate of the nation is in the hands of the owner of matters in this historical snapshot.
When I tried to achieve this in 2011 by demanding respect for the constitution, and the fulfillment of the people’s demands within the framework of constitutional legitimacy by the president’s abdication of power, and early free elections for a new government.. I did not succeed.. Institutions, Brotherhood rule, investment flight and starting over, as if we were an emerging state or not.
What do we do to make our call for democracy a call also for freedom, protection of the rights of individuals, and the non-collapse of institutions at the moment of change? .. And how do we guide the effects of free and fair elections if they bring about a new dictatorial rule or a complete chaos in which interests conflict – which is what we see now unfortunately on multiple levels in every elected assembly, Starting with building councils, neighborhoods, local councils, professional unions, departments in universities, or even parliament..a recurring model in Egypt that gives a clear and explicit indication at the highest level in the country, which is the sum of what happens at the lower levels?!. Everyone is in conflict, a sense of inalienable rights, intolerance and controversy, inability to make decisions, chaos, and then the loss of rights.
It is true that freedom is the guarantee, but it is not represented by chaos, but rather by order. Freedom needs guidelines and sometimes restrictions.. The real security of freedom depends on the strength of some protective walls that protect it.. This is what produced modern liberal democracy through the accumulation of years in the West.. It is
This is something we cannot wait for in our country for long.
We must restore the balance between democracy, freedom and the need for order, as democratic societies need new equipment and accompanying guiding features to address the problems and conditions of the current era.
This begins, without hesitation, with justice and the firm application of the law without selectivity, and to think of the law as the wise ruling restrictions that make citizens free within the framework of the freedom of the whole society, stemming from a constitution that is actually respected by the ruler and the ruled.
The young man said: The situation, then, is confusing. Democracy in its traditional form is not able to benefit from it, as we think.
I said: Our country needs a strong rule. Otherwise, state institutions will collapse and development will stop. The presidential system may be the closest to the culture of Egyptian society and to Egypt’s needs. A system that gives the president broad powers to achieve goals he has set and adhere to.
The educated young woman said: What guarantees that dictatorship will not occur if this happens?
I said: One important thing is to ensure the peaceful transfer of power. This ensures the sustainability of development and the accumulation of experience.
And I think, as I see it, this is the model that President Sisi is clearly seeking, and what I fear is that this is not what some of those who gain power indirectly seek for their presence next to the president. Therefore, the president’s moves to change the leaders around him is a method that indicates his knowledge of souls and his respectful political understanding.
The young man said: The question remains: When?
I said: Every historical moment has its own men, and just as the president was a hero in ridding the country of a religious dictatorship that could have lasted for a century, his heroism that history will truly remember is the gradual transfer of the country in a sustainable institutional manner to the transfer of power with civil and military cooperation that allows development and prevents chaos. This will make his achievements continuity and accumulation and protect the future of Egypt.
