Sunday, February 27, 2005
Mubarak says: Free Elections, Not Free Elections...
Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt since Anwar el-Sadat's assassination in 1982, has now said that he wants the Egyptian constitution changed so that multiple candidates can run for President later this year. How wonderful, right? But read between the lines...Mubarak may want an election of clones:
Egypt Leader Allows Opposition on Ballot
Now, read this part of the story, buried way down:
Imagine in this country if the party out of power could only run candidates endorsed by Parliament, run by the party in power.
In short, bullcrap, bullshit, bull-oney.
Sorry, "Hosni," but that kind of "democracy" is not what we expected.
Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt since Anwar el-Sadat's assassination in 1982, has now said that he wants the Egyptian constitution changed so that multiple candidates can run for President later this year. How wonderful, right? But read between the lines...Mubarak may want an election of clones:
Egypt Leader Allows Opposition on Ballot
In a surprise and dramatic reversal, President Hosni Mubarak took a first significant step Saturday toward democratic reform in the world's most populous Arab country, ordering the constitution changed to allow presidential challengers on the ballot this fall.
An open election has long been a demand of the opposition but was repeatedly rejected by the ruling party, with Mubarak only last month dismissing calls for reform as "futile."
The sudden shift was the first sign from the key U.S. ally that it was ready to participate in the democratic evolution in the Middle East, particularly historic elections in Iraq and the Palestinian territories. Mubarak's government has faced increasingly vocal opposition at home and growing friction with the United States over the lack of reform.
Now, read this part of the story, buried way down:
But Mubarak's order to parliament declared the amendment must state that any potential candidate be a member of an official political party and win the endorsement of parliament, which is dominated by the president's ruling party.
Imagine in this country if the party out of power could only run candidates endorsed by Parliament, run by the party in power.
In short, bullcrap, bullshit, bull-oney.
Sorry, "Hosni," but that kind of "democracy" is not what we expected.
