Youth leaders who sparked the 25 January Revolution won hardly any seats in the first round of parliament elections, Khaled Dawoud reports Leaders of scores of youth coalitions and movements were the celebrities and stars shortly after the success of the popular revolt on 25 January that ended with the removal of former president Hosni Mubarak 18 days later. Without their tireless efforts, creative ideas, numerous protests against Mubarak and mobilisation over the Internet, most experts agree that the uprising would have failed. Thus, in meetings held by leaders of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) or the cabinet, youth leaders would consider it outrageous if they were not represented, considering that this was, as is often called, partly "a youth revolution". However, when it came to the ballot box during the first and second rounds of parliament elections over the past two weeks, it appears that these youth leaders did not have the support of the voters, managing to win just a handful of seats. The party list called The Revolution Continues, or Al-Thawra Mostamera, which included mainly leftist and liberal youth coalitions and parties, took less than three per cent, or 360,000 votes, in the nine governorates in which elections took place in the first round. That's obviously insignificant compared to the millions of votes won by the Muslim Brotherhood's party, Freedom and Justice, and the new force on Egypt's political scene, the Salafis represented by the Nour Party. Youth candidates who were regulars on popular TV talk shows, such as Khaled El-Sayed who was running for a seat in south Cairo, Tarek El-Kholi in Shubra, Shahir George in Cairo's fourth district, Yasser El-Hawari in Cairo's second district, Amr Oda in Nasr City, Abdel-Rahman Fares in Fayoum and Asmaa Mahfouz in Heliopolis, all failed noticeably in even making the race close with the top contenders. There were a few exceptions. Amr Hamzawy, a political science professor and presenter of a television talk show, won a slam dunk in his district in Heliopolis, winning nearly double the votes scored by his rival from the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamzawy faced sharp attacks from political Islamic groups for his liberal views, going as far as charging that he wanted to allow gay marriage in Egypt while banning women from wearing the veil. Analysts noted that middle and upper middle classes who live in the posh area of Heliopolis were a key factor in assuring Hamzawy an easy victory. He was also known to many voters because of his regular appearance on television shows. Ziad El-Eleimi, another youth leader, is also likely to win a seat in south Cairo as a member of the party list presented by the Egyptian Bloc, or Al-Kotla Al-Masriya, a coalition made up of the liberal Free Egyptians Party created by tycoon businessman Naguib Sawiris, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party and the leftist Tagammu. In the fierce battle between political Islamic parties and the coalition of leftist parties, the Brotherhood and Nour charged that the Egyptian Bloc was the coalition favoured by Egypt's Coptic Christian church. El-Eleimi and other candidates in the bloc charged that such claims threatened to divide voters on sectarian lines, which was indeed the case in several Cairo districts, while disregarding the fact that the majority of the bloc's candidates are liberal Muslims. Mustafa El-Naggar, originally a member of the Muslim Brotherhood but who later split with a group of youth members of the group for an alleged lack of internal democracy, also scored a significant victory in his district in Nasr City. El-Naggar, who formed his own Justice Party after the revolution, was competing against a veteran Muslim Brotherhood figure, Sheikh Mohamed Youssri. While it was obvious from his name that he was a Muslim and despite his own religious background, supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood candidate in Nasr City claimed that El-Naggar was the candidate supported by the Coptic Church, while others claimed he was a Christian himself. El-Naggar filed an official complaint against his rival in the Supreme Elections Committee, and Sheikh Youssri felt obliged to issue an apology. Hassan Nafaa, a strong opponent of the former Mubarak regime and who played a key role in the revolution, blamed the youth leaders themselves for their failure. He noted that many parties concerned warned of the deep divisions among the youth groups and the clear absence of a united leadership. He added that many of the youth leaders who became known after the revolution were obviously attracted by the spotlight they were put under by the media, and forgot to work on the ground in order to gain the support of the average voter. "However, it is not too late to try to unite themselves and to stress their position as a new political force on the Egyptian scene," Nafaa said. Another strong supporter of the revolution, columnist Wael Qandil, saw the failure of the youth leaders as a natural result of the fierce campaign waged against them in recent months in the state-owned media. Qandil pointed to repeated recent statements by top SCAF commanders that the young men and women who led the 25 January Revolution and who continue to protest in Tahrir Square "did not represent all Egyptians". Qandil added that SCAF had given its blessing to other groups who have staged demonstrations in Abbasiya Square in support of SCAF Commander Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, accusing Tahrir protesters of being responsible for the deterioration of the security situation and economy because of their ongoing protests. The split was clearly reflected in Tahrir Square which now appears deserted in comparison with three weeks ago when protesters began their sit-in to press SCAF to set a clear deadline for handing over power to an elected civilian president. On 19 November, anti-riot police used excessive force to disperse a group of protesters who said they were injured in clashes with the police during the early days of the revolution and ignored by SCAF and the government. Thousands of people rushed to Tahrir to protest against police brutality and clashes ensued for nearly five days in which at least 42 civilians were killed and thousands injured. SCAF Commander Tantawi later announced that presidential elections would be held on 30 June, after which the majority of Egyptian activists readied for the upcoming elections. Over the past few days, the majority of youth movements who supported the sit-in agreed on clearing the square and opening it to traffic, contending that the majority of Egyptians were now against the continued closure of such a vital area because it only added to their daily hardships. Yet, reflecting the deep divisions among numerous youth groups, there were a few who refused to comply with the agreement, and insisted on keeping Tahrir closed. With such small numbers in Tahrir, observers expect that it will open soon, if not by anti-riot police, then at least by residents who live in the area and shop owners who have been out of business for three weeks. Besides the sit-in in Tahrir, a few hundred supporters of a number of youth groups such as the April 6 Movement and other leftist organisations had been camping for over a week in front of the prime minister's office in Qasr Al-Eini Street, parading empty coffins draped in Egypt's flag of those killed in Tahrir during the recent clashes. They insist on their demand that SCAF hand over power immediately to a civilian government, and reject the appointment of 78-year-old Kamal El-Ganzouri as prime minister. El-Ganzouri served as prime minister under Hosni Mubarak for three years, and earlier, planning minister for 12 years. Despite his earlier promises to include a few young ministers in his cabinet, he announced on Tuesday night that there will be none, and that all ministers in his new cabinet were not less than 60.
