Mubarak asks for increasing democratic guarantees in reform bills

The political landscape this week witnessed intensive activity for drafting political reform and democratic practice bills.

To this effect, President Mubarak has called for introducing more guarantees for supporting political practice, reactivating multiparty system and giving a new push to parties in order to enrich the political life through making emphasis on national constants and offering some facilities to the parties.

These guarantees together with amendments will be introduced into the bills on political rights, parties and the People's Assembly and the Shura Council and canceling one item of the local administration law which was allowing the President of the Republic to extend activity of local councils for one year.

This presidential power will clash with the role of localities especially after the amendment of Article No 76 of the constitution.

These bills will be referred to the People's Assembly and the Shura Council early next week.

The cabinet will hold a meeting tomorrow for discussing the presidential elections bill which will be referred to and discussed by the Shura Council this week in preparation for remitting it to the President of the Republic who in turn would refer it to the constitutional court for making a report on its constitutionality.

Meantime, the politbureau and the secretariat general of the National Democratic Party will hold a wide array of intensive meetings for selecting the NDP candidate for the presidential elections.

Amidst unprecedented unanimity, the NDP will ask President Mubarak to run for the presidential elections in order to complete the march of achievements and reforms which is currently witnessed by Egypt.

Safwat el-Sherif the NDP Secretary General is expected to give a speech during which he will declare the assignment which represents the hope and desire of all Egyptians late this month.

The NDP secretaries will hold intensive meetings in order to draw up the NDP platform before discussing it in its final form at the policies committee.

The platform will depend on the results of the intensive meetings which were held by the party in the past period.

It will include the needs of citizens and transfer them into working programmes in the upcoming stage.

The platform will also depend on the mechanisms whereby to complete the march of democratic reform, modernizing different aspects of life in Egypt, drawing up a strategy for raising standards of living, expanding insurance umbrella and securing Egypt's capabilities to deal with world markets and confronting all challenges.