Crackdown on Egyptian media before poll

EGYPT’S PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak yesterday issued a decree fixing November 28th for his country’s parliamentary elections. The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), three other legal parties and the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood are set to compete for the 508 seats.

In the run-up to the poll, the government has been cracking down on the media, on mobile phones and on the Brotherhood. Egypt’s main satellite provider, Nilesat, has shut down 17 private television channels for violating broadcasting regulations.

Another 20 were threatened with suspension of their licences.

Last week the television regulatory authority warned private channels against taking live material from satellite broadcasters other than the state provider.

The communications ministry has also announced restrictions on the use of mobile phone text messaging for news alerts. Permission will have to be obtained by news agencies and legal political parties, but entities not recognised by the government are to be excluded.

These include the Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest opposition grouping; the National Association for Change, founded by Nobel laureate Muhammad ElBaradei, former head of the International Atomic Agency; the Nasserist Karama party; the democratic Kefaya movement; and the moderate Muslim Wasat party.

The editor of Egypt's independent daily al-Destour, Ibrahim Essa, was dismissed by the paper's new owners, stalwarts of a pro-government party, shortly after being ordered not to publish an article by Dr ElBaradei.

“They bought the newspaper for $4 million, just to stop me from writing,” Essa stated.

“Independent journalism has a crucial role in keeping watch over the regime and exposing fraud or abuse of power, particularly during the time of elections,” senior Brotherhood figure Muhammad Habib observed.

On Tuesday, the Brotherhood announced that 164 of its members, mostly election campaign workers, had been detained.

Brotherhood spokesman Esam el-Arian said the arrests were intended to “intimidate” the movement following its announcement that it would contest the election. The banned group, which is permitted to field independents, won 88 seats in the 2005 election, becoming the second largest party in the assembly. Since then thousands of its members have been jailed.

The government is particularly eager for the ruling party to make a good showing in the parliamentary poll as it will set the scene for next autumn’s presidential election, which could decide who will succeed Mr Mubarak, now 83. Powerful NDP figures are calling for his son Gamal to be named as his successor but there is opposition to him in both the party and the military.