CAIRO — This ancient city of congenial smiles is cranky.
Scuffles and the boots of riot police rattle through streets ahead of parliamentary elections Sunday that are not likely to ease public anger over President Hosni Mubarak’s squeaky, but powerful, political machine. There is no doubt the National Democratic Party will sweep to victory from the southern deserts to the Nile Delta.
Egypt is not known for cliffhangers. Limits on political freedom and three decades of emergency law have turned party challengers into mere annoyances. The secular opposition is calling for boycotts, and the Muslim Brotherhood, which favors Shariah law and is the most potent counter to the NDP, has been hobbled by the arrests of hundreds of its members.
“We are talking about elections marred with bullying, hidden politics, dirty deals and many conflicting interests,” said Mohamed Salama Awad, a Cairo businessman. “Many independent candidates, not just the NDP, are to be blamed for such mayhem. Most of them want to join the parliament to serve their personal interests.”
Just a few months ago, many Egyptians were daring to be optimistic about prospects for change. They were swooning over Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former head of the U.N. nuclear regulatory agency, who had returned home to lead a protest movement. That early promise fizzled against infighting, divided agendas and a government crackdown on the media and opposition voices.
“It often appears as if ElBaradei imagined his mission to be easier than it turned out,” said Ahmed El-Sawi, a columnist for the newspaper Al Masry Al Youm.
What followed have been headlines of unrest, accusations of government fraud and bribery, and attempts by police and thugs to intimidate independent candidates. The U.S., which gives Egypt more than $1 billion a year, has urged Cairo to hold a transparent poll. The strain between the allies grew testier last week when Egypt criticized Washington’s call for international election observers.
What’s at stake is who will emerge as the ruling party’s presidential candidate in 2011. There are questions over whether Mubarak, 82, whose ill health has led to palace rumors and national anxiety, will seek a sixth term. The old guard, which has close connections to the military and state security services and appears to have the edge in Sunday’s elections, is betting that a man who has been in power since 1981 will stay there.
