Although the Muslim Brotherhood favors Egypt's new political parties law, some intellectuals and liberal parties are questioning whether it represents a substantial improvement on the old one.
On March 28, Egypt's Supreme Military Council (SMC) issued Law 12 of 2011, amending Law 40 of 1977 governing the establishment and operation of political parties. The Muslim Brotherhood generally favors the law, while some intellectuals and liberal parties, particularly the smaller groups, are questioning the extent to which it represents a substantial improvement on the old one.
The new law carries three significant developments: retention of the banning of religious parties, party establishment through "conditioned notification," and withdrawal of government funding for parties. First, despite the recent proliferation of Islamist movements, Article 4 of Law 12 retains a ban on any party whose basis is religious or sectarian in its "principles, programs, activities, or membership or leadership." It further bans any party whose goals or principles violate "national security" and "national unity," and requires the public disclosure of the goals, structure, and source of funding of any party.
The Muslim Brotherhood has welcomed the new law despite its maintenance of the ban on religious-based parties. Apparently it believes it can create a "civil" party that meets the legal standard and still draw on the political benefits of its broad-based network of charities and social welfare organizations, much like the Islamic Action Front in Jordan, which is the political face of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood's blessing of the law is also in line with the group's general alignment with the Supreme Military Council's transition plan. Additionally, the group's growing political and strategic savvy recognizes the uneasiness of many Egyptians, as well as the international community, about the notion of an official Islamist political party, the explicit agenda of which is to bring about an Islamic state in Egypt.
The second significant feature of Law 12 is the introduction of the "conditioned notification" system. The old Law 40 created a "political parties committee" whose job was to regulate the establishment and operation of political parties; under its tutelage, parties languished for years at the mercy of the committee chair, National Democratic Party former secretary general Safwat al-Sharif. Law 12 retains the committee, but has changed its membership to members of the judiciary, several of whom will be chosen by judges who are executive appointees. The committee, mandated to "examine" the applications of new parties and to use state "resources" to investigate any matter before it, has the right to object to the establishment of any new party within thirty days of that party's notification. If an objection is made, the committee must within eight days of objection submit its reasons to the Supreme Administrative Court to adjudicate the matter. If no objection is made, the party is considered legally registered on the thirty-first day of notification. The committee's decisions are made by a four-member majority. The committee also has the right to submit a request to the Supreme Administrative Court to dissolve a registered party if, after an investigation by the general prosecutor's office, a party is found to be in violation of Article 4 of the law concerning the legal basis for the establishment and operation of a party.
Third, Law 12 abolishes previous state funding of political parties, stating that a party shall be funded by the contributions of its members and donations of Egyptian citizens. Law 40 called for an annual allocation of L.E. 100,000 annually to each registered party.
Objections are being voiced by those who view as problematic the continued operation of any political parties committee, particularly since the appointment of several of the judicial members of the committee is still heavily informed by executive power. Since the declaration of the new law, one party, the al-Ghad Free Civil Coalition, has made a formal application.
Dina Guirguis is the Keston Family research fellow in The Washington Institute's Project Fikra.
