Ayman Nour: We will win—even in unfair elections

RNW, 7 November 2010 - 12:17pm | By Abir Sarras

(photo: ANP)

Via a radio smuggled into his small prison cell, RNW’s Arabic service was Ayman Nour’s link to the outside world. The Egyptian opposition leader and former presidential candidate recently visited the Netherlands, where he called on Europe to closely monitor Egypt’s upcoming elections. The vote, he says, is doomed to be a farce.

Travel Ban

This was Mr Nour’s first trip abroad since he was banned from travelling to speak at the European Parliament late last year. The Egyptian authorities delayed his departure from Cairo airport for three days, and only allowed him to leave after the intervention of the Dutch embassy. Mr Nour fears he may be arrested on his return to Egypt but he is almost resigned to the difficulties he faces.

"It´s the usual undemocratic obstacle we face when we try to express our views abroad. The ongoing emergency legislation allows the authorities to do anything they want. Our freedom of movement and our freedom of expression are breached regularly."

Fundamentalism as a pretext

Speaking at a human rights symposium here in the Netherlands, Mr Nour accuses the Egyptian authorities of exaggerating the influence of Islamic fundamentalists in his country. It’s a pretext, he says, for suppressing any form of opposition and maintaining the political status quo. He is urging European governments to reject such fear-mongering and support Egypt’s opposition movement.

Presidential candidate

A lawyer and a journalist, Mr Nour, 45, was an MP for 10 years. When he ran against incumbent President Hosni Mubarak in 2005, he came second, with 8.5 percent of the vote. A few days later he was arrested for allegedly falsifying documents relating to the creation of his Elghad party the year before. He was imprisoned until February 2009, when he was released for health reasons. Analysts believe US pressure was behind the decision to free him.

Schism and divorce

After his release, Mr Nour joined forces with other opposition leaders in the National Movement for Change. This umbrella organisation was set up by Mohammed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The movement brings together 36 different parties and groups that all call for peaceful and democratic change. The current regime, however, is determined to deter opposition by whatever means, warns Mr Nour.

"When the government wants to undermine a party on the rise, security agents join it as members. When we realised we had been infiltrated and cancelled their membership, the state media reported it as a schism within the party. This scenario was repeated 17 times in other parties".

Mr Nour has since been banned from practising law and was ousted from his university teaching position; his newspaper, Elghad, was banned. The authorities also destroyed his personal life: "It was through the state media that I heard that my wife was divorcing me", he says.

Change

Since his release, Mr Nour has been pursuing a door-to-door campaign, personally visiting 330 Egyptian towns and villages. The National Movement for Change has managed to collect 1 million signatures on a petition demanding reform. "The reactions are overwhelmingly positive", he says, "the Egyptian people are hungry for change".

Egyptians will go to the polls to elect a new parliament on 28 November. But opposition parties are calling for a boycott of the ballot, which they say will be a total farce.

Mr Nour is planning to run again in the 2011 presidential elections–despite government attempts to disqualify him. After 30 years in power, President Mubarak will be stepping down then, and his son will run in his place. Mr Nour himself sees fresh opportunities in next year’s race. But most observers believe Mubarak Junior will not fail to win.

Mohamed ElBaradei returned to his native Egypt this year

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Egypt's Mohamed ElBaradei alleges 'smear campaign'