Egypt parliament opens amid chaos

Women make up a tiny minority, only about 1 per cent, of the new Egyptian parliament.

Πηγή: The Sydney Morning Herald
By David Kirkpatrick
Jan 24 2012

THE opening session of Egypt's first democratically elected parliament in more than six decades erupted in chaos as the Islamists dominating the chamber struggled to keep order and thousands of demonstrators gathered outside in an unruly mix of celebration and protest.

It took until nightfall for the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's mainstream Islamist group, to decisively beat back an unexpectedly vocal challenge from a dissident former member so that the parliamentarians could elect a Brotherhood stalwart, Saad el-Katatni, as speaker.

Mr Katatni's victory, by a vote of 399-97, was an important turn in the history of the Muslim Brotherhood, which had been banned by deposed president Hosni Mubarak. After 84 years of struggle in the shadows of monarchy and dictatorship, the Brotherhood - a secretive, once-militant group that became the fountainhead of Islamist ideologies worldwide - was close to political power and democratic legitimacy.

Representatives from Islamist parties won just over 70 per cent of the seats in the elections.

Live television coverage of the 12-hour session made clear the Islamist - and male - domination of the parliament. Most members had beards of various lengths. Only a few women were in sight; about 1 per cent of the parliament is female.

The chamber's most important task will be to appoint a 100-member assembly to write the constitution, laying out the powers of the parliament, the future president and the state.

Abdul Moneim el-Tantawy, a 67-year-old mechanical engineer and Brotherhood member who stood in a crowd outside the parliament since early morning to watch parliamentarians enter, called it ''the most important day in our lives'' since Mubarak's downfall.

''This is our celebration,'' he said. ''Before, if we stood here, we would be taken to jail.''

The Brotherhood's success, however, was tempered by the noisy reminders both inside and outside the chamber of the challenges that members face in leading the country to democracy.

Egypt's parliament remains subordinate to the ruling military council that took power when Mubarak was ousted. Although the generals have promised to turn over power to civilians by the end of June, after the ratification of a new constitution and the election of a president, they have baulked at submitting to full civilian control.