RHETORIC BECOMES REALITY:

Egypt abuzz with presidential campaign: Candidates press the flesh in the country's first-ever multi-candidate presidential elections set for Sept. 7. (Charles Levinson, 8/23/05, The Christian Science Monitor)

Most expect Mr. Mubarak to secure another six-year term easily on Sept. 7, and critics contend that these elections are yet another staged performance to placate domestic and international calls for democracy. But Egyptians are enraptured by the unfolding process, and, for the first time, are discussing their right to choose who rules them. Intended or not, the process is signaling a shift in the country's collective mind-set.

"The people on the street are so keen to know what's happening, but they are still afraid to approach us," says Gemila Ismail, Nour's wife. "All this has happened in five months. We never even thought we would have elections, so think about this for a simple Egyptian."

The changes are largely seen to be the work of the ruling National Democratic Party's so-called reformers, the same gang of media-savvy officials who are also at the helm of Mubarak's reelection campaign. They are young, smartly dressed, fluent English speakers, many of them have degrees from the West's leading universities. Convincing voters to support their candidate seems of secondary concern to their campaign. The far more daunting task is to convince the international community that these elections will truly be free and fair.

"Some people are still skeptical about this experience, so we are trying to assure them that this is serious, that this is real change," says Mohamed Kamal, a leading Mubarak campaign official who has a PhD from Johns Hopkins University and once spent a year working as a US congressional staffer.

With US pressure for reform mounting, the public face of Egypt's authoritarian government has undergone a significant makeover in the past week. State television, once all but off limits to the opposition, has begun giving equal air time to each candidate. Government newspapers, traditional citadels of regime propaganda, are publicizing the election platforms of Mubarak's opponents.

At opposition campaign rallies in Cairo and outlying governorates, the massive security forces, long a mainstay at public gatherings, are nowhere to be seen. Instead, a handful of traffic police escort the candidates and their caravans through traffic, and help block off streets so marchers can proceed peacefully.

To skeptics, however, the increased margin of freedom is not designed to ensure fair elections, but is simply another tenet of the government's campaign.

"The government's message is not directed at the Egyptian people, and is not about voting for Mubarak," says Magdy Mihana, a leading independent columnist and political pundit. "The message is directed to the outside world that there are elections and that they are free and that there is real competition between more than one candidate."

Mikhail Gorbachev lost the Soviet Empire that way.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 22, 2005 8:38 PM