Revolution Continues: Putting the revolution's voice in parliament

Revolution Continues: Putting the revolution's voice in parliament


Zeinab El-Gundy, Sunday 4 Dec 2011
The Revolution Continues Alliance, which includes a large number of youth candidates under 40 years, as well as first time candidates, faced many challenges in the first stage of the parliamentary elections, yet managed to take 335,947 votes, ranking sixth place in nine governorates, according to the results

"The method to calculate the seats won by each list in different constituencies is unclear and ambiguous," Revolution Continues Alliance member Emad Atteya told Ahram Online.

Despite the ambiguity, it was confirmed that Revolution Continues Alliance member Abu El-Ezz El-Hariri managed to score a lists seat in West Alexandria constituency. The former member of parliament and leftist veteran is the first member of the Revolution Continues Alliance to win in the lists seat category.

The Alliance believes that it may have scored another two seats in the lists seats catgeory, one in Cairo and another in Fayoum, and it awaits confirmation from the Supreme Electoral Commission. "We are still waiting for the official lists seat results from the Supreme Electoral Commission as we can't rely on the internet and the media, though we had our representatives in the vote count," Attaya elaborated.

Achieving three seats, or even one, in the lists category is considered by many as an achievement, considering the huge challenges the electoral alliance representing the revolutionary views of Tahrir Square faced.

"Despite suspending our electoral campaign in the week prior to the first stage of elections, and despite our lack of financial sources compared to our competitors, the Revolution Continues Alliance managed to take 336,000 votes ... 336,000 who came down from their homes and waited in long queues to say that they want the revolution to continue … Support us in the second and third stages so the revolution voice reaches to the parliament."

This status update on the Revolution Continues Alliance page was posted Sunday after the results of the lists category were announced in the media.

Emad Attayia told Ahram Online that the financial resources of the alliance are considered the lowest when compared to the Freedom and Justice Party, Al-Nour Party, Egyptian Bloc, Al-Wasat and El-Adl Party. "We depend on basic, inexpensive campaigning, whether through flyers or simple banners or rallies," Attayia explained.

Attayia also described on how the Revolution Continues Alliance's publicity was fought in some districts, despite that it was not big, like for other parties, accusing the Salafist Al-Nour Party and Freedom and Justice Party supporters of tearing down banners of the Alliance in some areas.

Another challenge the Revolution Continues Alliance met a week before the elections was the clashes in Tahrir Square, which led to members suspending their electoral campaigns, like El-Tayar El-Masry Party member and activist Asmaa Mahfouz, who decided to withdraw from the elections, objecting to the crackdown of security forces on protesters.

Also there was confusion in the media about some candidates — whether they were members in the Revolution Continues Alliance, or independent — including, for instance, Amr Hamzawy.

Hamzawy, who won the professional seat in Heliopolis district, is the founder of Misr Al-Horreya Party which is a member of the Revolution Continues Alliance, yet he ran in the elections as an independent. Until now there is a confusion about Hamzawy and whether he is considered an independent member of parliament or is representing the Revolution Continues Alliance.

The Revolution Continues Alliance has 30 members running for individual seats in these elections; seven were competing in the first stage while the rest will compete in the second and third stages. The Alliance is also fielding list candidates in 16 governorantes across the three stages.

The Revolution Continues Alliance includes: the Socialist Popular Alliance Party, the Egyptian Socialist Party, the Egyptian Current Party, the Egypt Freedom Party, the Equality and Development Party, the Revolution Youth Coalition, and the Egyptian Alliance Party. It is considered one of the electoral alliances that most represents the views and demands of the Egyptian revolutionary movements.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/~/NewsContent/33/100/28506/Elections-/News/Revolution-Continues-Putting-the-revolutions-voice.aspx