Egypt We Are Watching You 1 - Parliamentary elections

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BBC Documentary: Why democracy - Egypt We Are Watching You

Film Context
In 2005, Mubarak announced that Egypt would hold multi-party presidential elections in Egypt. The elections were given strong support by the U.S. government. The vote was marked by violence and fraud; it was boycotted by large parts of the opposition because they believed it was run unfairly. The voter turnout was remarkably low according to the Carnegie Endowment it was a mere 23 percent. Regardless, the U.S. Government described it as a victory. Mubarak won a fifth term in office and very little was done to address the unfair aspects of the elections. In response to indifference about government and democracy three Egyptian women formed Shayfeen to educate the people about democracy.

Political History
Egypt was under monarchic rule until 1952 when Gamal Abdel Nasser came to power. Nasser was president from 1954 until he died of a heart attack in 1970. Nasser was a proponent of Pan-Arab nationalism, socialism and the non-alliance movement. He is famous for leading Egypt into the Six Day War with Israel in 1967, which Egypt lost.
In 1970 Anwar Sadat came to power. Sadat is most famous for signing the first peace agreement between Israel and an Arab country. The peace agreement was signed in 1979 and is believed to have been the reason for his assassination in 1981. Since then Mubarak has been in power.

Mubarak has been liberalising Egypts economy with the help of his current economically liberal cabinet, who have made big plans for far-reaching reforms. However, despite these efforts, unemployment and low standards of living are still prevalent.

Mubarak maintains friendly relations with the West, especially America. Egypt is the third largest recipient of aid from the United States, following Iraq and Israel. Meanwhile, Mubarak has resumed relations with the rest of the Middle East after a long isolation due to the signing of the peace treaty with Israel, which was perceived by many as a betrayal of the Arab people. Egypt currently plays a large role in the Middle East both as a regional media powerhouse and as an influential mediator in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The Political Scene
Egypt has a semi-presidential system where the president is both the head of state and the head of government. Mubarak is the leader of the National Democratic Party, which has been the dominant party in power since its formation in 1978. In recent years the Muslim Brothers have gained significant power in Egypt. The Muslim Brothers are the largest and most powerful Sunni-Muslim organization in the world and are present in several Arab countries. The group promotes the idea of an Islamic state ruled in accordance with the Quran and Sharia law. However, since the 2005 elections, Mubarak has made it more difficult for political opponents to gain influence.

World Relevance
In 2005 civil liberties in Egypt were extended to the public but since then partially revoked. For years civil society has come under pressure from the largely undemocratic state, the rise of religious groups and the vast influence of foreign patrons that have different interests in the political direction of Egypt. Egypt: We See You shows the struggling voice of civil society as it is in Egypt and many other societies across the world.

Category:

News & Politics

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• Egypt
• We
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• مصر
• الجمعيه
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[Universesurfer1]

Greetings to the Egyptian people and felicitation ;o)

[rachelgolem]

VIVA LA ANARCHY!!!

VIVA LA STARVATION!!!!!

[candygir7]

don't be scared; organize and do vigilante; kill all corrupt pig politicians and corrupt laws.

[candygir7]

@hetch2002 in 2006 USA made pigs with human blood & hybreed (half human & half pig blood) When for the past 2 years in UK humans are being grown in cows. that is some human rights we have. 'science' industry is defiling the human genom. Then we are eating rice with scorpion genes in them; is scorpio Halal or Kosher? of course not, most people are all fake human rights & religious. Also cabbage you are eating is mixed with human genes. Laws made gov't don't have to tell you what is in your food.

[hetch2002]

Keep doing what you are doing. The path to freedom and human rights was never easy! Though we are not likely to see results in the next 10 years, it will eventually happen so as long as we have educated courageous people such as your selves!