The parliament of generals in Egypt

Only in Egypt does a parliamentary candidate win elections before the polls even open. This is the case with the “parliament of generals” which is in the process of being designed and formed under the watchful eye of the intelligence and security agencies. On a daily basis newspapers are reporting the meetings that are taking place in front of the representatives of these agencies, along with some representatives of the political forces that the government approves of. All of this is taking place under the personal supervision of Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi’s son and in the presence of the legal adviser to Al-Sisi’s presidential campaign, Mohamed Bahaa Abu Shoka, according to the informed sources Al-Araby Al-Jadeed quoted.

What is worse is news reports are talking about a fierce conflict between the “intelligence” and “minister of interior” candidates lists, especially after a number of candidates from the latter’s list were excluded. It seems that the “intelligence” list has a stronger presence and has the upper hand in the elections campaign.

The “For the Love of Egypt” electoral list is led by a retired military general who is being presented in the media as a strategy expert and the statements made by this alliance alone are enough to admit them to a mental facility in any respectable country. The retired general and head of a research centre, as the media says, is holding regular meetings with anyone pledging their loyalty and obedience to the top general who is ruling the country with an iron fist. He is also controlling the selection of candidates for the electoral lists and individual seats. He also issued a provocative statement, which has a novelty factor, when he finally said: “The new parliament will approve Al-Sisi’s laws before discussing them”, i.e. the parliament will be turned into a mere “seal” that will bless the president’s edicts and approve them, making them legislations and laws.

The man’s political immorality has even exceeded the “tailoring” of laws that occurring in Hosni Mubarak’s reign when Ahmed Fathi Sorour and Zakaria Azmi pretended to hold discussions and talks under the parliament’s dome, before they passed any new legislation in order to save face and keep up appearances, in order to fake some level of parliamentary legitimacy.

Forget the name of the “electoral list”, which is part of a disgusting and extortionate ploy to add Egypt to any sentence or phrase aiming for nothing more than to highlight false nationalism, all of which contain chauvinism and clear exclusion. However, it seems that the people are not ashamed to be led by a “retired general”. On the contrary, he and his list are being presented as an example of pure nationalism and combatting the “enemies of the state”.

Some candidates on this list have won elections in areas south of the delta because they were uncontested and because they stole the lists of their opponents. It is not strange for Mubarak’s “feloul” and the National Democratic Party to return to the forefront and try, by all means possible, to reserve a place on the lucky electoral list. Kamal Al-Shazli’s son, a member of the old National Democratic Party, has returned to the forefront and made a statement clearly signifying the fact that he is seeking to “regain” his father’s seat, as if it were a legacy passed down from father to son. It is also not unusual for a celebrity to hold hands with his son, who is a parliamentary candidate, confidently announcing that he does not have a programme or platform and that he does not need it because his goal is to “serve the people”. These “people” are being mocked by the adviser and they are forced to hear the dirtiest words from him, unashamedly, while Mubarak’s businessmen are fighting to enter the parliament, taking advantage of their money and television stations, in order to compete with the “generals” list.

It is worth noting that the electoral lists affiliated with the “revolution” have become marginalised and withdrew from the scene, which was the case with Coordinator of the Egypt’s Awakening electoral list, Abdel Gelil Mustafa, who was the former coordinator for the Kefaya movement. These lists include figures who were opponents of Mubarak but turned into extras after 30 June.

At the same time, the parties that were once prestigious and long-standing, such as the Wafd Party, are suffering from marginalisation and exclusion, despite pleas by the head of the party during a statement made to gain the approval and support of the general. This exposes the magnitude of political deceit and extortion that the “civilian elites” have been subjected to. We also have not heard the voice of Hamdeen Sabahi or any of those who are affiliated with the January 25th Revolution, even if they only claim to be so.

Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi no longer needs to rig the elections after rigging and falsifying the collective Egyptian consciousness. The state no longer needs to increase the number of its candidates’ cards or switch the ballot boxes like it did during Mubarak’s reign, as the increase and switching is all being done at the source, i.e. the minds of the Egyptian citizens which were nationalised and confiscated two years ago.

Hence, we are facing a purely surreal and comical scene, but it seems to reflect the level of deterioration and immorality that the political situation in Egypt has reached under the rule of the generals.

Translated from Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, 13 October 2015.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.