Dr. Hossam Badrawi Official Website
Translation By chat GPT
Dr. Hossam Badrawi’s speech
Opening of the National Dialogue Conference
Prime Minister,
Members of the Dialogue Board of Trustees,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Any successful dialogue must have predetermined specifications and a framework within which we speak. This is what the Dialogue Board of Trustees has been preparing for, and our presence here represents an agreement on most of them. We thank and congratulate them for that.
My suggestion, which still stands, was for the framework of the dialogue to be the Constitution and Egypt’s Vision 2030, which was announced by the President in 2015. Hundreds of experts and researchers worked on it, reviewing all previous visions and engaging the community in a respectful dialogue to formulate a semi-integrated vision for Egypt 2030.
I was tasked by the Dialogue Secretariat to present this updated vision, and I was one of its creators in 2014, to the participants in the dialogue as a framework for dialogue, in the hope of renewing it for Vision 2050. I did my duty by meeting with the Minister of Planning and the respected group of researchers who worked with her and formulated the vision with its possibilities professionally. I also met with the Ministers of Education and Higher Education and Scientific Research in a more expansive dialogue about the future of education and to identify the strategies of both ministries to implement it.
Then, I gathered all the various papers on the vision in health and population, governance, and environmental conservation, economy, and civil society, with the mentality of the politician and the developer, and submitted them to the Dialogue Secretariat. I even went further by making it available to many interested political parties for their benefit before the dialogue.
I believe that the national dialogue is primarily a political dialogue, and I have taken it upon myself to document a political vision for the future of the country to discuss it within the political file, taking into account the commitment to the philosophy of the Constitution, as it is the document and reference that should govern our dialogue.
We are now writing a constitution that completes the construction of a modern democratic state, with a civil government. The political system is based on: 1- political and party pluralism, 2- peaceful transfer of power, 3- separation of powers and balance between them, 4- accountability accompanying power, and 5- respect for human rights and liberties as stated in the constitution.
This is the preamble of the constitution, and its fifth article, which was overwhelmingly approved by the Egyptian people in 2014 and was not amended in 2019. There are articles in the constitution that we need to preserve, and articles that have not been implemented and must be discussed by the dialogue members, so that we can frame them within the context of implementation, such as decentralization, separation of powers and balance between them, and the way justice is applied and liberties are respected.
Therefore, the foundation is to build a modern democratic civil state, which, by definition, has a government that preserves and protects all members of society regardless of their national, religious, or intellectual affiliations, and protects privacy and freedom of expression.
There are several principles that must be present in the civil state, and if any of them is lacking, the conditions of that state will not be achieved. The most important of these is that the state is based on peace, tolerance, acceptance of the other, equality in rights and duties, respect for contracts, and ensuring the rights of all citizens, not as a gift from the state but as a right that it must preserve, and not allowing some members of society to impose their culture on others under the guise of religion or ideology.
Let us think about what was mentioned in the preamble of the constitution and make it the basis for dialogue and ask ourselves honestly how we can achieve that. We must also be cautious in protecting the dialogue from some who see, perhaps with good intention but mistakenly, that stability and the safety of society come through silence and avoiding change and avoiding opening the doors of diversity.
Change will not come from those who benefit from the status quo or are satisfied with it, and this is where the role of the country’s political leadership comes in. Just as it responded to the people’s call on June 30th, it must respond to the citizens’ right to establish the foundations of the new modern civil republic, as I see clearly in the president’s call for dialogue and his follow-up to it.
The pillars of the modern state are based on two principles: justice and non-selective application of the law, and sustainable human development. The achievement of greater effectiveness of governance is linked to the access of the most capable to positions of power through a system that allows it, and is also linked to the importance of a monitoring and accountability system for the executive authority, and the determination of periods of governance to ensure the renewal of thought and vitality of performance.
Politically, we need to focus on the following elements:
– The effectiveness of governance
– Capable governors
– Independent oversight and accountability of the executive authority
– An independent and effective justice system (the real revolution must happen in this field)
– An education and culture system that enables citizens to build their capabilities, to have the opportunity to choose the best and to contribute effectively to the development of themselves and their community
– Commitment to applying the philosophy and articles of the constitution and ensuring citizens’ rights.
In our vision for a political future that guarantees sustainable development, we search through this dialogue for initiatives that achieve our dreams for a modern civil republic, with a balance between real powers on the ground. An initiative that does not deprive the country of its human potential or its effective national institutions. An initiative that respects freedom and justice by ensuring that freedom does not turn into chaos or lawlessness. An initiative that allows the people to freely choose their representatives in parliament.
The Egyptian Armed Forces hold the reins of power now, but they should not bear political responsibility for development challenges, nor should they lose their reference value in case of violations of the constitution and legitimacy, or destructive revolutions if the people demand them.
The Armed Forces should not become responsible for political or economic conditions, and it is necessary to preserve their role in maintaining Egypt’s independence against any aggression, protecting the people, and the constitution when needed.
Therefore, we must find a new formula that respects the balance of power, but does not waste the foundations of the civil state. This is what all stakeholders in society must strive for, without sensitivity or fear.
I believe that the presidential system, in which the elected president holds broad powers, is the optimal system for Egypt. However, this system leads to authoritarianism unless it is limited to two maximum terms of no more than twelve years, as stipulated in the constitution. This should be a constitutional choice that cannot be amended by any governing authority for its own benefit.
The European parliamentary system does not suit peoples with high rates of illiteracy and poverty. However, within the presidential system that gives the president broad powers, there is a parliamentary representation that ensures the people freely choose their representatives, even if they may not always elect the best representatives due to poverty and ignorance.
Therefore, the existence of an upper chamber for parliament, as proposed by the amended constitution, becomes essential, but not in the manner applied in the latest parliamentary elections, which employed the absolute list system.
There are many details that need to be studied, and I believe that the national dialogue may be qualified to discuss this to avoid political mistakes that the country has repeatedly made and create an effective will in the government to hold the executive authority accountable at the central and local level without hindering development.
Decentralization, as provided by the current and past constitutions, which must be gradually implemented, is the broader framework for listening to the people at the village, center, city, and governorate levels. This may also be significant for the national dialogue.
All of this must be based on two fundamental pillars: the successful application of the law and a human development plan through education and healthcare that cannot be reversed under any circumstances.
We need to recognize the dangers of democracy under unstable conditions or in the absence of the ability to choose due to ignorance or poverty, or both at once. We need to realize that what precedes elections in directing public opinion, especially if not fortified by knowledge and understanding, and that manipulating or threatening it affects the election results. Additionally, the power of political money in determining the choices in a society with a poverty rate exceeding 30% adds to the complex situation.
Therefore, where does the preventive deterrence lie that guarantees the soundness, stability, and sustainability of democracy? And how can it be applied in our country?
In the West, deeply-rooted traditions have been established to protect individual self-independence, rights, and dignity from coercion, regardless of its source, whether it be from the state, church, or even the majority of society within a framework that protects the rights of minorities and freedoms, based on a combination of democracy, freedom, and order.
As for us, these self-evident principles are still unstable within an educational and cultural system that does not cultivate this direction and does not make it stable in the societal conscience.
I remind everyone that the constitution is the foundation of the laws.
It was established to organize life in the state and its role grows as a reference agreed upon by society when disputes arise between factions.
In moments of conflict and revolutions, during which the most organized, well-funded, and loudest prevail, constitutional authority is the greatest and most important. However, we have become accustomed, in these moments, to overthrowing the authority and canceling the constitution, leaving the fate of the nation in the hands of whoever controls the situation at that historical moment.
It is true that freedom is the guarantor, but chaos does not represent it. Rather, a certain level of order does. Freedom needs guidelines and sometimes constraints. The real security of freedom depends strongly on some protective walls that protect it, and this is what modern liberal democracy has produced over the years in the West, which we cannot wait for in our country for a long time.
We must restore the balance between democracy and freedom and the need for order, where democratic societies need new equipment and guidelines accompanied by addressing the problems and conditions of the current era.
This begins, without hesitation, with justice and the firm application of the law without selectivity, and that we think of the law as the wise governing constraints that make citizens free within the framework of the freedom of society as a whole emanating from a constitution that is truly respected by the ruler and the ruled.
Our country needs a strong rule, otherwise the state institutions will collapse and development will stop. What guarantees not to turn into dictatorship if this happens?
And the answer does not go beyond one thing and important is to ensure the peaceful transfer of power. This is what guarantees the sustainability of development and accumulation of experiences.
I affirm that knowledge is the foundation of this development and it is the gateway to the levels of progress that we seek, as knowledge reflects on the development of the economy, politics and society as a whole and on all aspects of human activity and knowledge has played a decisive role throughout the ages in the rise and fall of nations and shaping the orientations of the present and future. Therefore, I return to Egypt’s vision and duty of implementation in education, culture, health care, youth and sports that build a human being in a society whose essence is children and youth.
The axis of the country’s vision must be to provide the best possible opportunities for exploiting human energies in order to achieve a better level of well-being for individuals.
The Egyptian human being is the goal, and he is also the basic tool for achieving this development. I affirm that development in this sense does not mean only increasing wealth or income for society, but enabling them men and women, young and old, and activating their participation in society and good use of their energies and abilities to serve themselves and their homeland with optimal use and fairly of resources so that current generations live without harming future generations.
The heart of what I say is that education is the gateway to knowledge, and knowledge is the basis of development, capacity building and opportunity provision.
Ladies and gentlemen The accumulation of experiences and peaceful transfer of power, without demolition or chaos, is the only way to sustain any policy or application.
I can assert that Egypt possesses human potentials and professional competencies, and a striking force from its youth who are ready to learn and train, which guarantees it in one decade to assume its position among the forefront of advanced countries, but the challenge lies in implementation and sustainability, which requires commitment to vision, And competent management at all levels without compromising on achieving announced performance indicators with time frames for citizens, and it needs a dose of optimism And positivity created by some decisions that he sees and feels people regain hope for work.
