Civil Society

Local Election Adjournment Targets the MB

By Mohamed Abdel Aziz

Earlier this month the Egyptian Shoura Council approved a government-sponsored bill that called for a two-year postponement of municipal elections, which were originally scheduled for April 2006. Two days later, the NDP-dominated People’s Assembly passed the bill. Most analysts attributed the postponement to the government’s fear that the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) might achieve a sweeping victory in the local councils, similar to their unprecedented gains in last fall’s legislative election. During that election, despite only fielding candidates for about one third of the 444 contested seats in parliament, the MB won 88 (roughly 20 percent). Furthermore, Hamas’ victory in Palestine and the ongoing row over offensive cartoons published in some European newspapers have fuelled fears of a further boost in the popularity of the Islamic movement in Egypt, which would have likely been translated into electoral gains had local elections been held in April.  

The primary objective of the postponement was undoubtedly to block the banned MB from fielding a candidate for president in 2011. Article 76 of the Egyptian constitution, amended in May 2005, stipulates that in order to field an independent candidate, 250 signatures must be obtained from elected officials. Of these, no fewer than 65 must come from the Peoples’ Assembly, at least 25 from the Shoura Council, and 140 from local councils (at least 10 from each of 14 different governorates). It should be emphasized that the MB currently occupies no seats in the Shoura Council, but, importantly, elections are to be held in 2007 for one third of the Council’s 264 seats. The other two thirds of the Shoura Council will be appointed just after the elections.

Local councils are currently repositories of NDP power, where the ruling party controls well over 95 percent of the elected positions. Greater representation in municipal councils is desirable for the Brotherhood, not only out of necessity in fielding a candidate in 2011, but because these local administrations handle matters like building schools and distributing water resources—social services integral to the MB’s grassroots appeal.

The government has cast the delay as a necessity for promoting greater democracy; a transformation period in which decentralization will bring greater autonomy to local governments. However, critics have emphasized that decentralization and elections are hardly mutually exclusive.