Recap of Election News for Egypt, February 1, 2012

Dear readers

The Egyptian election has a lot of moving parts. Accordingly, it has been a little bit hard to keep track of it all. To date, I have written 29 separate posts on the Egyptian elections.

So, what do we know?

Women 

One thing that I think is very interesting is how few women there are in the Egyptian Parliament. According to the best information I have, there are only 8 (eight) women in the Parliament so far. I assume that most of these women are from the Freedom and Justice Party or the Wafd, but I am trying to get names and specifics on this topic. Here is a good article on the same.

Ibtisam Barakat, Welcome to the New Egyptian Parliament, Jaadaliya,

In some of my previous posts, I had commented on which parties may or may not represent women. The lesson the liberal parties learned (I hope) is that if they really want a diverse party, they need to move minorities closer to the top of the list. It is my educated opinion [which does not make it a fact] that people actually voted for PARTIES, not individuals for the most part in this election. Here are some of my musings on the matter.

Which Egyptian Parties Represent Women?

No women elected to Egypt's parliament in first round

The Elections Aren't Over

Like the Egyptian Revolution, the Egyptian elections just go on, and on, and on, like the Energizer Bunny. The elections for the Egyptian parliament's lower house (People's Assembly) are not even over yet.

There are 498 possible seats. Only 427 have been decided. There are 71 seats remaining. As many as 45 seats will be determined by runoffs. They were supposed to have been held on January 10th, but I will have to look into that.

Shura Council Elections are (were) to be held on January 29th, February 14th, and March 4th in the same sequence as the PA elections were.

The date of the Presidential election has not been decided.

I was Wrong, but not far Wrong

Okay, how did I do on my election predictions?

Well, I predicted the FJP--the political wing of the MB--would win 30%. That was not correct. The FJP has to date won about 45.2%. So I was off by 15%. I predicted El Adl would win 15%. Oops! They only won less than 1%. I predicted that Revolution Continues would win 15%. I was very wrong there. They only won 2.34%. I predicted that the Egyptian Bloc would win 15%. They actually won 7.03%. So, I was wrong, but not crazy on that one. I totally missed the Salafi issue. Some of these errors are due to having lived in Cairo, and teaching at AUC, which is comparatively liberal and secular. Well, now we know.

More soon!~WMB

Which Egyptian parties represent women and Copts and young people?

Post updated on December 7, 2011

The purpose of this post is to compile research on which Egyptian parties represent women and Copts and young people.

Women in Egypt have historically been politically marginalized. Interviews conducted with two prominent Egyptian women, one journalist, one UN staff, indicated their concern that women would take between 1% and 3% of seats in People's Assembly and the Shura in this first election. According to UN Women, " In the first stage, 2366 candidates are competing over the individual seats including 149 women and 2217 men, which mean that women represent (6.2%) only of the total number of candidates running on the 56 individual seats for the 9 governorates."

The old parliament was largely powerless. It did have a quota for women. The new electoral system does not have a quota. However,  the new electoral law says that each proportional list must have at least one woman. (Yasmine Fathi, "Will women make it into Egypt's upcoming Parliament?," Ahram Online,  October 20, 2011.) Updated November 22, 2011.

Please remember that the lower you are on a list, the less likely you are to get elected. Accordingly, it is fair to say that parties which place women high on a list, particularly in slots 1-3, are really interested in getting them elected. Conversely, if the women are at the very bottom of the list, the party may be uninterested in getting them elected.

This just in. We (Myself and Heba Galal, my amazing student) have gone through the facebook pages of MB, El Adl and Al Nour, and seen where they have women on their lists. I have highlighted lists where women are in the top half, and therefore have a great chance of winning. This is what we have found. Updated November 30th, 2011. 12:23 a.m.

• El Adl seems to have a fairly high number of women on their lists, in my opinion. They are running 24 women out of 13 lists. As many as 8 women are near the top of the lists. El Adl also has some Christians.
• The Muslim Brotherhood seems to have slightly more than the bare minimum of women on their lists. They are running 38 women out of 37 lists analyzed. Two women are near top of the lists. (9 lists still need to be analyzed.)
• It is rumored that some of the women on Al Nour's list are fakes, and are just the mothers or the sisters of party members, to meet the legal requirement. 
• The Egyptian Bloc: On 42 lists, they have 43 women. 9 women are at the top of their lists.The Bloc also has many Christians.

Freedom and Justice Party/Muslim Brotherhood. www.facebook.com/FJParty.Official?sk=app_10442206389
The MB is incredibly organized, and has almost all of their candidates listed on their facebook page. Almost all of their list have at least one woman. In general, the women are in the bottom half or bottom third of the lists. However, occasionally, a woman is in a high position.

List (People's Assembly) (Two women at top of Lists)

1.Cairo. The initial list. One woman, Abeer Hussein Osman. Rank, 9 out of 10 candidates.
2. Cairo. The second list. One woman, Manal Mohammed Abu Hassan, Rank 5 out of 8 candidates.
3. Cairo. The third list. One woman, Nagva Abdel Mawla, Rank 6 out of 8 candidates.
4. Cairo. The fourth list. One woman, Omaima full Abdul Hai, Rank 5 out of 10 candidates.
5. Giza. The initial list. One woman, Samah Said Ahmed Abdel Khalek, Rank 9 out of 10 candidates.
6. Giza, the second list. One woman, Azza Mohamed Ibrahim Elgref, Rank 4 out of 10 candidates.
7. Alexandria. The initial list. One woman, Bushra Mohamed Alsmona, Rank 3 out of 6 candidates.
8. Alexandria. The second list. One woman, Khadija Mohamed Fahmy, Rank 9 out of 10 candidates.
9. Beheira. The initial list. One woman, Manal Ismail, Rank 5 out of 12.
10. Beheir. The second list. One woman, Hafsa Atef Schumann, Rank 7 out of 8.
11. Dakhalia, the initial list. One woman, Siham Abdel-Latif Jamal, Rank 2 out of 8.
12. Dakhalia, the second list. One woman, Noha Mohram Karam Ibrahim Jaballah, Rank 7 out of 8.
13. Dakhalia, the third list. One woman, Professor Faiza Ahmed, Rank 7 out of 8.
14. Gharbia, the initial list. One woman, Abeer Adel Abbas El Menshawi, Rank 6 out of 10.
15. Gharbia, the second list. One woman, Hanan Hamdi Hassan Samak, Rank 7 out of 10.
16. Assiut, the initial list. One woman, Fatima Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman, Rank 7 out of 8.
17. Assiut, the second list. One woman, Entsar Mahmoud Sayed ElSherif, Rank 7 out of 8.
18. Ismailia, One woman, Zeinab Ali Mustafa, Rank 3 out of 4.
19. Suez, One woman, Azza Ismail Mohammed, Rank 3 out of 4.
20. Sharqia, the initial list, One woman, Wegaa Hisham Kabeel, rank 10 out of 10.
21. Sharqia, the second list, one woman, Hana El Said Saleh Hassanin, rank 10 out of 10.
22. Fayoum, the initial list, one woman, Nadia Tawfiq Suleiman Khalil, rank 8 out of 8.
23. Fayoum, the second list, one woman, Ahalam Eid Barakat, rank 4 out of 4.
24. Qalubiya, the initial list, one woman, Huda Abdullah Abul Qadr, rank 4 out of 4.
25. Qalubiya, the second list, one woman, Hoda Abdel-Rahman Mohammed Anwar, Rank 3 out of 8.
26. Menoufia, one woman, Nabila Ali Moussa Motweh, rank 8 out of 8.
27. New Valley, one woman, Mervat Said Abdo, Rank 4 out of 4.
28. Beni Suef, one woman, Fatima Mahmoud Marzouk, Rank 4 out of 8.
29. Port Said, one woman, Sahar Mohamed Khudairi, rank 3 out of 4.
30. South Sinai, one woman, Amira Abdel Hamid Taha, rank 4 out of 4.
31. Damietta, two women, Fakry Adham Abdel Razak, Etmaad Mohamed Zagloul, rank 3 and 5 out of 8.
32. Sohag, the initial list, one woman, Ebtahag Ahmed Hassanein, rank 9 out of 12.
33. Sohag, the second list, one woman, Salwa Mohammed Abdul Karim, rank 8 of 8.
34. North Sinai, one woman, Inas Mustafa Hamdan, rank 4 of 4.
35. Qena, one woman, Suhair Badri, rank 4 of 4.
36.Kafr el sheikh, initial list, one woman, Huda Safan, rank 8 of 8.
37. Kafr el shikh, initial list, one woman, Fahima Mansour, rank 4 of 4.

Missing Data for MB on 9 districts for electoral party lists.

Al Nour Party/Salafis, Al Nour Party Facebook Page

No women in top half of lists analyzed. 

List (people's assembly)
East of Cairo, one woman,  8 out of 8.
South of Cairo, no women indicated.
West of Cairo, one woman, 7 of 8.
Aswan, one woman, 4 of 4.
Luxor, one woman, 4 of 4.
Qena, one woman, 4 of 4.
Qena list 2, one woman, 8 of 8.
Sohag, two women, 10 and 12 of 12.
Sohag, list 2, one woman, 8 of 8.
Assiut list 1, one woman, 8 of 8.
Assiut list 2, one woman, 8 of 8.
Minya list 1, one woman, 8 of 8.
Minya list 2, one woman, 8 of 8.
Beni Suef, one woman, 7 of 8.
Fayoum, one woman, 8 of 8.
New Valley, one woman, 4 of 4.
Ismailia, (no women?)
Port Said, one woman, 4 of 4.
Suex, one woman, 4 of 4.
Damietta, one woman, 8 of 8.
Dakhalia, list 1, one woman, 8 of 8.
Dakhalia, list 2, one woman 8 of 8
Dakhalia list 3, one woman 8 of 8.
Alexandria, list 1, one woman, 6 of 6.
Alexandria list 2, one woman, 10 of 10.
Beheiria, one woman, 12 of 12.

Individuals
Nasr City, one woman
South area of Egypt, no women
Zeinab, no women
Maadi, no women

El Adl party, El Adl Webpage 

Lists (8 women at top of lists)


1. Central Cairo List, two women, one Christian ranks 3,4,5, out of 8. 
2. South Cairo List, one woman, rank 5 of 10.
3. East Cairo List, one woman, one Christian, rank 4 and 7 of 10.
4. Ghamra, one woman, 2 out of 8.
5. East Alexandria, one woman, 3 out of 6.
6. Alexandria, Shura Council, one woman, 4 out of 4.
7. Minya Governorate, one woman 2 out of 8. 
8. East Alexandria, one woman 3 out of 6.
9. Matrouh, one woman, 4 out of 4. 
10. Gharbia, four singles, all men.
11. Gharbia, Mahalla, two women, 5 and 6 out of 10.
12. Gharbia, Tanta, one woman, 10 out of 10.
13. Qena, North, one woman, 3 out of 3.
14. Qena, South, one woman, one out of 8.
15. Red Sea, one woman, 3 out of 4.
16. Beni Suef, one woman, 4 out of 8.
17. Sohag, one woman 4 out of 8.
18. Sharqia, Abu Kabir, one woman, 9 out of 9.
19. Sharqia, Zagazig, one woman, 3 out of 10. 
20. Damietta, one woman, 7 out of 10.  
21. Baheria, Damanhur (not sure about this location) one Christian, one woman, 6 and 11 out of 12. Suez, one woman, 4 out of 4. 
13. Fayoum, one woman, 2 out of 4. 


List Shura Council  (no women in top half of lists)

Alexandria, one woman, 4 out of 4.
Matrough, one woman, 3 out of 4.
Gharbia, Mahalla, one woman, 4 out of 4.
Beni Suef, one woman, 3 out of 4.
Sharqia, one woman, 3 out of 4.

Individuals (3 women)

Department of Osim, a man, People's Assembly 
South Giza, a man, Shura Council

North Giza, a woman, Shura Council.

Minya Governorate, Four candidates, no women, three people's assembly, one Shura council.
Dakhalia Governorate, two candidates, no women, two People's Assembly
East Alexandria, two men, people's assembly
Alexandria, one man, Shura Council.
Gharbia, Mahalla, one man.
Minya, three men for people's assembly.
Minya, one man, Shura council.
Sharqia, two men, people's assembly
Qalubiya, one woman, Shura Council.
Damietta, one man, People's assembly.
Beheria, four men, no women, people's assembly. 
Ismailia, one woman, People's assembly. One man, Shura council.


The Egyptian Bloc ("Kotla": Free Egyptians, SDP and Tagamoo)
Egyptian Social Democratic Party 
The Free Egyptians Party

We examined both the SDP versions of the lists and the Free Egyptian version. They are close but not identical. The final lists have to be the same, since they are running as a bloc. Each party can choose to run whomever they want as individuals.

Lists (9 women at top of lists)

1. East Cairo. Two Christians, one woman. Rank 3 (C); 6(W);7(C) out of 7.
2. Downtown Cairo. One woman, one Christian. Rank 5 (W); 6(C) out of 9.
3. Cairo El Sahel. Three Christians, one woman. Rank 1(C); 4(C); 8(W); 9(C) out of 10.
4. South Cairo. One woman, one Christian. Rank 5(W); 8(C) out of 9.
5. Giza First List. Out of 10. Two Christians, One woman. Ranks 5(C); 6(C); 10(W).
6. Giza Second List. Out of 10. One Christian, one woman. Ranks 5(C) and 7(W).
7. Qaliubiya First List.  Out of 4. One woman. Rank 3.
8. Qaliubiya . Second List. Out of 8. One Christian, one woman. Rank 2(C) and 5(W).

9. Alexandria, First List. Out of 6. One woman, rank 3.

10. Alexandria, Second List. Out of 10. One Christian, one woman. Rand 8(C) and 9(W).
11. Port Said First List. Out of Four. No women.(Mistake?)
12. Ismailia. Out of 4. One woman. Rank 2.
13. Suez. Out of 4. One Christian, one woman, Rank 1(C) and 3(W).
14. Sharqia. First List. Out of 10. One woman, two Christians. Rank 3(W) ; 6(C) and 10(C).
15. Sharqia. Second List. Out of 10. Two women, one Christian. Rank 3(C); 6(W) and 10(W)
16. Dakhalia. First List. Out of 8. one woman, rank 9.
17. Dakhalia Second List. Out of 8. One Christian, one woman, rank 8(C) and 9(W).
18. Dakhalia Third List. Out of 8. one woman. Rank 4. 

19. Damietta. Out of 8. one woman. Rank 4.

20. Kafr El Sheikh. First List. Out of 9. One woman. Rank 7.
21. Kafr El Sheikh. Second List. Out of 4. One woman. Rank 4.
22. Gharbia. First List. Out of 10. One Christian, one woman. Rank 3(C) and 5(W)
23. Gharbia. Second List. Out of 10. One woman. Rank 10.
24. Menoufia. One Christian, two women. Out of 8. Ranks 3(C); 7(W) and 9(W)
25. Beheira. First List. Out of 10. One Christian. One woman. Ranks 1(C) and 9(W).
26. Beheira. Second List. Out of 8. One woman, one Christian. Ranks 2(W) and 3(C).
27. Fayoum. First List. Out of 10. One woman. Rank 9.
28. Fayoum. Second List. Out of 5. One woman, one Christian. Ranks 4(W) and 5(C).
29. Beni Suef. Out of 4. One woman. Rank 2.
30. Manyia. First List. Out of 8. Two Christians. Ranks 3 and 5.(mistake)
31. Manyia. Second List. Out of 8. One Christian woman. Rank 8.
32. Assiut. First List. Out of 9.  One Christian, one woman. Rank 2(C) and Rank 7(W).
33. Assiut. Second List. Out of 9. Two women. Ranks 2 and 6.
34. Sohag. First List. Out of 10. One woman. Rank 8.
35. Qena. Out of 8. One woman, Rank 6.
36. Aswan. Out of 4. One woman. Rank 3.
37. Luxor. Out of 4. One Christian, one woman. Ranks, 3(C) and 4(W).
38. Marsa Matrouh. Out of 4. One woman, rank 4.
39. New Valley, out of 4. One woman, rank 3.
40. Red Sea Governorate, out of 4. One woman, rank 3.
41. North Sinai Governorate, Out of 4. two women, ranks 3 and 4.
42. South Sinai Governorate, out of 4. one woman, rank 3.

Completed November 30th, 2011. Need to recheck for Christian names. Need to see if there are four lists that I missed. 

Individuals (People's Assembly)  (three women)

Free Egyptians
1st District Cairo. two men, one of them is Christian.
2d District Cairo. A man.
3rd District Cairo. A man.
4th District Cairo. Two men.
5th District Cairo. one man. One Christian woman.
6th District Cairo. A man.
7th District Cairo. Two men.
8th District Cairo. Two men.
9th District Cairo. One Christian woman. One man. 

 First district Giza. Three men. 

Second district Giza. One man. 

Third district Giza. One man. 

Fifth District Giza, two men. 

First District Alexandria two men. 

Second district Alexandria, two men. 

Third district Alexandria, two men. 

Fourth district Alexandira, two Christian men. 

First District Fayoum, one man. 

First district Port Said, one man. 

First district Ismailia, two men. 

First district Suez, three men. 

First district Sharqia, two men. 

Fifth district Sharqia, two men. 

First district Dakhalia, two men. 

Second district Dakhalia, one man. 

Third district Dakhalia, one man. 

Fourth district Dakhalia, one woman. 

Fifth district Dakhalia, two men, one is Christian. 

Sixth district Dakhalia, one man. 
First District Damietta, two men.
Second district Damietta, two men.
First district Kafr El Sheikh, one man
First district South Sinai, two men
Marsa Matrouh, two men, one is Christian.
Aswan, two men, one is Christian.
Qena (three districts) five men.
Sohag (four districts) six men.
Second district Assiut, one man.
First district Minya, two men.
Third district Minya, one Christian man.
Second district Beni Suef, one man.
Third district Beni Suef, one Christian man.
First district Beheira, two men, one is Christian.
Second district Beheira, three men.
Third district Behira, two men
Fourth district Beheira, one man
Fifth district Beheira, one man
First district Menoufia, three men.
Second district Menoufia, three men.
Third district Menoufia, one man.
Fourth district Menoufia, one man.
First district Gharbia, three men.
Third district Gharbia, one man.
Fourth district Gharbia, one man.

Individuals (Sura Council) 
Free Egyptians
Cairo, list one man
Luxor, individual one man.

The Revolution Continues Alliance 

Lists (10 women out of 10 lists)

1. Cairo 1st District. Two women, one Christian. Rank 3 (W); 4(W);6(C) out of 10.
2. Cairo 2d District. One woman, one Christian. Rank 3 (C); 5(W) out of 8.

3. Cairo Third District. One woman. Rank 1(W);  out of 8. 
4. Cairo 4th District. Two women. Rank 6(W); 10(W) out of 10.
 5. Alexandria, First List. Two women, Ranks 2 and 3.
6. Alexandria, Second List. Out of 10. Cannot see a female name (?)

7. Damietta. Cannot see a female name. (?)

8. Kafr El Sheikh. Second List. one woman. 3 out of 3. 
9. Red Sea. One woman. 3 out of 3. 
10. Assiut. First List. Two women, one Christian. Ranks 4(W); 5(W) and 6(C).



Individuals

No women.

This section was completed on December 7, 2011.

Other Parties 

The RCA has 100 candidates under 40. The RCA CLAIMS has two women at the top of its lists, including Mervat Said Hanafi in Helwan. This assertion was not confirmed in my review of the lists.  There are 45 women in the 32 lists of the Revolution continues, two women at the top of two lists and 4 women come second in the lists.

The SDP and Socialist Coalition also have platforms strongly supportive of women and religious freedom.

The Free Egyptians and the SDP ("Kotla") have sizable Copt participation. That is to be expected as they  are secular parties.

Wafd Party President al-Sayed al-Badawy says there are 37 Coptic candidates on the lists, and 87 female candidates on the lists. (As of October 29, 2011. The Wafd party will field at least two women in first place, including Margaret Azer in Nasry City, and Magda El Nawashi in Ismalia. (Fathi, "Women") 

Heba Fahmy of the Daily News says the the Democratic Alliance List (Islamists) includes 76 women and 2 Copts. About half of the female candidates are on the top of the list. (Our research indicates that this claim was NOT TRUE).

In a press conference, the Salafist Nour party said that fielding women candidates for parliament is "evil," and that the party will only field female candidates because they are forced to by law.  (Fathi, "Women")


~WMB

Last updated December 2, 2011. 6:35 p.m. Cairo time. 

Egyptian Expatriates can now vote (perhaps), women organize, and Egypt Above All

This report is compiled from my morning review of the Daily News Egypt, Al Ahram Online, and Al Masry Al Youm. This review was conducted over ahwa bi laban. Meanwhile, Tahrir is busy as "low-ranking (AFP's words, not mine) policemen strike in Hurghada and outside the Interior ministry in Cairo to demand  the ouster of elements of the former regime, and improved pay.

In big news reported by all papers Egyptian expatriates now may, sort of, perhaps have the right to vote. Justice Abdel Salam Al-Naggar of the Administrative Court ruled that electoral headquarters should be established in Egyptian embassies around the world. A lawsuit was brought by a group of expatriates that included famous novelist Ahdaf Soueif. The Egyptian vote abroad movement was organized partly using social media, including Facebook, and twitter.

Mohamed ElBaradei talked about the matter before the revolution. Approximately 8 million Egyptians live abroad. Apparently, after the Revolution, numerous Egyptians began to register at Egyptian embassies in their host countries. It is not clear if the SCAF will respect the court's ruling.  This ruling is not likely to translate immediately into implementation, and it is not clear if it will be applicable for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Al Ahram points out that women in Egypt are organizing. Before the Revolution, women in the farming sector were forbidden from organizing. Female peasants in Imbaba district's Werdan village formed the first union for women farmers in Egypt this week. They aim to defend womens' rights in the sector, and fight for equal treatment of male and female workers in the agricultural sector. I am hopeful that this increased level of organization spills over into the political arena. 

Mahmoud Ramzy of Al Masry reports that a newly formed coalition has formed supporting Field Marshall Tantawi, current president of the SCAF, as president of the Egypt. Posters have appeared in Cairo and Alexandria. The campaign is called "Egypt Above All." Gallows humor moment: I am fluent in German, and if we translate that phrase into German, it reads Aegypten ueber alles. Not good.

Rana Khazbak reports that The Revolution Continues Coalition is composed of the January 25th Revolution Youth Coalition and six other parties, including the Socialist Popular Alliance Party, the Freedom Egypt Party, and the Islamist Egyptian Current Party (a radical youth breakoff of the MB). They aim to filed 270 candidates on party lists, and 20 individual candidates. Sixty of the coalition's candidates are women, and more than fifty percent are young people. The ideological scale of the group is predominantly leftist, but it also includes an Islamist party.

Meanwhile, Nate Wright reports that the centrist El Adl party will compete in the parliamentary elections alone. It has refused to join the MB dominated Democratic Alliance, or the Egyptian Bloc led by liberals. The party wants to move away from patronage, and towards changing ideology.

Noha El-Hennawy reports that the MB will use the slogan "We bring good for Egypt." This is a move away from their earlier slogan "Islam is the Solution." The MB heads the Democratic Alliance, which includes 11 parties. The Freedom and Justice party will now run for all seats in parliament, because of the current list based system. This contradicts a promise that they made not to run for more than 50 percent of seats earlier this year. Heba Fahmy of the Daily News says the the Democratic Alliance List includes 76 women and 2 Copts. About half of the female candidates are on the top of the list.

Finally, Heba Fahmy tells us that the political parties found the list candidacy system this weekend very disorganized and difficult, but those vying for individual seats had no problems. Okay, now I am exhausted, and my coffee is finished.

Sean Penn Becomes a Revolutionary

This past Friday was the "Friday of Reclaiming the Revolution." Sometimes I just wonder if the activists will run out of names for their Friday protests?

Thousands of activists, including Sean Penn, occupied Tahrir this past Friday, September 30, 2011. According to the British Guardian Newspaper, "The two-time Oscar winner arrived in North Africa at the invitation of Egyptian film star Khaled El Nabawy as part of efforts to show the country is once again safe for tourists following the revolution earlier this year that overthrew the regime of president Hosni Mubarak." (Ben Child, "Sean Penn Joins Protesters in Egypt," The Guardian, October 3, 2011)

I like Sean Penn. He was compelling and plausible in the movie Mystic River. I also like it that he is an activist. One more reason for me to watch his movies!

Many protesters were objecting to the concept of military rule. Other protesters were condemning the extension of the state of emergency. Field Marshall Tantawi of the SCAF was a special object of the protesters' anger. Demonstrators also protested against military treatment of civilians. Many protesters emphasized that this revolution was not going to turn out like 1954, and that Field Marshall Tantawi is not Gamal Abdel Nasser.

As explained by a particularly eloquent protester--Mirale Mohamed Hashem--who channeled my thoughts exactly, "This is not why we revolted. The goal of the revolution was to get rid of a tyrannical, oppressive regime, not to replace it with another one." (Ali Abdel Mohsen, "Activists, Sean Penn, Take to Tahrir for Friday of Reclaiming the Revolution," Al Masry Al Youm, September 30, 2011)

On Saturday, the SCAF represented by Armed Forces Chief of Staff Sami Anan sat down with leaders of 15 political parties. According to Al Shorouk, the camps agreed to a roadmap to hand over power within one year, (although we have heard that song before). The hardline Islamist Jama'a al-Islamiya was not invited to the meeting. Apparently, the People's Assembly and Shura Council will hold their first meetings in January and March, respectively.

According to Ahmed Zaki Osman writing in Al Masry Al Youm, the political parties are divided over Saturday's meeting. The Wafd party as well as the MB's Freedom and Justice Party, and the Adl party signed a statement following the meeting pledging their support for the SCAF. Thirty members resigned from El Adl after they signed this statement.  This statement was met with derision by the Popular Socialist Coalition Party.

The Wafd party has allegedly been recruiting former NDP members. This has apparently created a rift between Wafd and the MB's Freedom and Justice Party, which were thinking of forming a coalition. On Monday, the SCAF approved a treachery law which supposedly will prevent Mubarak regime members from being active in politics for five years, and remove those officials from their government positions. The treachery law was passed initially after the 1952 Revolution.

Meanwhile, Egypt is in financial trouble. Economic growth is at 1.36 percent in the 2011-2012 financial year. Growth for the 2010-2011 financial year was at 1.8 percent, a low figure. Mohamed El Baradei has warned that Egypt may face bankruptcy within six months, and criticized the SCAF for economic incompetence.