The nomination of Mostafa el-Feki is shocking and shameful.
El-Feki's nomination should be rejected foremost because of a widely-publicized incident in the 2005 parliamentary elections.
Not everybody who was part of Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP) is corrupt, argued el-Feki recently in light of growing objections to his nomination. 'I was not corrupt at all,' he said.
El-Feki was Mubarak's assistant for information until 1992. He was Egypt's ambassador to a number of countries and the chairman of the parliament's foreign affairs committee. Local and international media archives contain numerous statements in which el-Feki defended the regime. But he is right. All of this provides no proof that he was corrupt.
The 2005 Parliamentary Elections
Now, let's jump back to November of 2005. El-Feki was running against Gamal Heshmat, a member of the then outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, for parliament in the constituency of Damanhour. Judge Noha El Zeiny, who was supervising the voting, gave a detailed testimony on the vote rigging that took place that day.
'The semi final results from the subcommittee indicated that the candidate Gamal Heshmat got at least 25 thousand votes and that el-Feki got at most seven thousand votes,' said El Zeiny in a published account.
And surprise surprise. El-Feki won. Wait! It wasn't really a surprise. The vote rigging used by the former regime was common practice.
The Judges' Club later announced that an investigation has shown el-Feki's opponent won the vote by over 16 thousand. It called on the justice minister to announce the true results.
Why El-Feki?
So why would Egypt nominate a former assistant to Mubarak, a long-time member of his party and a man whose victory in the parliamentary elections is widely contested to the Arab League?
It's complicated. Although the Arab League is often criticized for being irrelevant and ineffective, it is a critical time for the organization, whose members now include Tunisia and Egypt, both of which managed to topple their leaders, along with 20 Arab countries varying between those which are facing serious uprisings like Libya, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain and those who are nervously watching the developments.
Since its establishment in 1945, the Arab League has always had an Egyptian Secretary General except between 1979 and 1990 when its headquarters were moved to Tunis in objection to Egypt's peace treaty with Israel.
I expect el-Feki will get the two-thirds of the vote he needs to be approved. He is not a true supporter of the revolution. El-Feki was part of the old system for decades, which suits the majority of Arab countries at the moment.
For the record, el-Feki resigned from the NDP five days before Mubarak stepped down. He attempted to join the protesters in Tahrir Square one day afterwards but was reportedly kicked out.
Protest In Front of Arab League
A number of groups, including the April 6th movement, have issued statements in objection to el-Feki's nomination. A protest is planned in front of the Arab League headquarters tomorrow Wednesday April 20th to reject the decision.
The current secretary general of the Arab League Amr Moussa leaves office on May 15th to run for president of Egypt.
El-Feki's confirmation as Secretary General would be a mark of disgrace for post-revolution Egypt. I believe there is no shortage of qualified, respectable Egyptians who could fill the post. But if Egypt feels el-Feki is the best it can offer at the moment, then it might be time to end the country's manipulation of the post and allow nominees from other Arab counties a chance.
Read more: Egypt, Moustafa, Fekki, Mostafa, Osman, League, Zeiny, El-Feki, Gamal, Tahrir, Nomination, Noha, Arab, Revolution, Protest, Hoda, Mubarak, Heshmat, New York News
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