The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) stands to win a landslide victory in Egypt's parliamentary elections, though I write these lines before the official announcement of the results, slated for Tuesday.
I cannot yet confirm nor deny the occurrence of electoral fraud, either through rigging, blocking access to polling stations, or playing with voter lists. Nor can I confirm or deny news of police brutality, gun violence in some districts, and possible deaths. I also cannot conclude with certainty, as some analysts have, that the regime is intent on using all possible means to curb the Muslim Brotherhood’s chances at winning.
But regardless of these allegations, the NDP will win a comfortable majority since it is the only party that was prepared for and competed seriously in these elections. It did so by relying primarily on the state and its institutions to support its candidates’ electoral campaigns.
The NDP is the only party that competed for all the seats in this election. In many districts, it fielded more than one candidate to run against each other. NDP members were also present at all the ballot boxes. By contrast, the Wafd, which is the most influential of the recognized opposition parties, ran in less than half the districts. Even if all of its candidates won–a practical impossibility–the Wafd would still not achieve a majority. So imagine the fate of the remaining opposition parties, who each fielded between 3 and 70 candidates for over 508 parliamentary seats.
All these facts point to a sure NDP victory, even without any rigging.
The three main opposition parties–the Wafd, Tagammu and Nasserist parties–who supposedly share a common belief in democracy and change, have failed to unify their efforts and run on a single list. Add to that their reluctance to coordinate with the Brotherhood and the Brotherhood’s hesitation to compete for all the seats for fear of retribution by the authorities.
The NDP is performing a one-person show. It has acquired more than half the cake, while the opposition is battling for the crumbs.
So kudos to the NDP on winning a game with no opponents.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
