NDP elections and rumors

The National Democratic Party Secretary General Safwat El-Sheriff said that the party will conduct in-house elections from base to top in order to select the new leaders including the Party Chairman through direct balloting. Rumors and gossips on the coming changes in the NDP appeared in the headlines of private, opposition and even some national newspapers.

Some private and state-run newspapers said that the slogan "Join Leadership Ranks" of the NDP in the eternal expansion elections will change only names. They said that Gamal Mubarak will become the chairman of the NDP and that Safwat El-Sheriff will be replaced. Some people alleged that the general secretaries will change their positions as some of them will stay while others will leave the party. The private newspapers paid no attention to the elections scheduled to be held in 7555 units accross the republic starting from August 18 through September 10, 2007 and all new formations will be finalized on October 3, a month before the NDP conference while they paid attention only to names of persons more than the coming pivotal change in the party.

Those who promoted such rumors ignored the fact that the NDP has created a great political action in the Egyptian society when President Hosni Mubarak declared his initiative in February 2005 to make the post of the president of the republic through nomination among more than one candidate and not through referendum. It is not reasonable that the NDP will allow access to the leading posts in the party through recommendation.

The party applies the NDP Statute endorsed in 2002 which stipulates that occupation of top spots must come through direct balloting and must come at the current time because the conferences held between 2002 and 2007 are annual conferences and are not fit for the application of the party decisions while the coming ninth conference is a general conference which is held every 5 years in which big changes happen. President Mubarak who is the NDP Chairman does not accept that citizens are allowed to choose the president of the republic through free direct balloting among many candidates while elections is not applied to the party which he presides over.

The NDP has led the process of legislations and laws witnessed by the parliament and realized the achievements of President Mubarak's electoral program, the matter encouraged many members in the party and people from outside the party to participate in the elections and nominate themselves. Some people used the NDP elections as a pretext to wage demonstrations while some others decided to participate in the elections.

The NDP officials pay attention to create the culture of participation among all people. Two seats for youths and two seats for women were allocated in each unit, i.e. the unit which consists of 20 members will include tow women and two youths. The party is looking for leaders and efficiencies in order to expand the selection, choose the best, renew bloods and discover young political talent.

By: Mohamed Ali Ibrahim
Al Gomhuria
19/8/2007