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Ex-IAEA chief ElBaradei: I may run for Egypt presidency
(CNN) - Nobel Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei has said he would run for the presidency of his native Egypt next year as long as he could be assured that the elections would be free and fair.
ElBaradei, who recently stepped down as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he would seek to change the Egyptian constitution to allow international supervision of elections, an independent election commission and equal access to media.
It is the constitution, democracy activists say, that has allowed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to govern the country under emergency decree for nearly three decades, since the assassination of his predecessor Anwar Sadat.
"This is not my primary goal," ElBaradei said in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday, "to run for the presidency. My primary goal is to see my country, Egypt, a country where I grew up, making a genuine shift toward democracy."
The 81-year-old Mubarak has not announced whether he would stand again for the presidency in 2011, but a succession of health challenges, including recent gall bladder surgery in Germany, have led Egyptians to discuss an issue that had long been off limits in the tightly controlled Egyptian press.
// // "We have a president who has been in power for 30 years," ElBaradei said. "We have martial law for almost 30 years. This speaks volumes for the lack of democracy in Egypt."
ElBaradei, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize along with the IAEA, said he was organizing a grassroots movement across Egypt's political spectrum, using Facebook to petition to change the constitution in a manner that would open Egypt's political system to real pluralism.
"That current situation has to change, because the way it is crafted right now, it's only handful of people who have the right even to run for presidency. So democracy is no longer part of the Egyptian lifestyle for over 50 years. And it's an idea that its time has come."
ElBaradei does not have a political party, a factor that presents a substantive obstacle to his candidacy, but he vows to send a message of democratic change to the government.
"This is a peaceful, nonviolent movement, but it's a popular grassroots movement. And everywhere I go, everywhere I travel, there's massive support for change in Egypt."
"For the people, I'm a real agent for change. For the regime, I'm a virtual person," ElBaradei said. "I can't even have a headquarters. I can't raise funds. But we have a lot of volunteers. We have a lot of young volunteers everywhere in the country right now canvassing for change, explaining the people how change will impact on their economic and social life."
But Ahmed Ezz, a businessman and leading parliamentary member of the ruling National Democratic Party, said that ElBaradei was exaggerating the difficulty of competing in the upcoming elections.
"My party, the NDP, has made it clear it welcomes Dr. ElBaradei to join the political fray," Ezz said. "Our constitution anchors politics and political parties with clear political platforms. There are 24 parties in Egypt. Any of these parties can field candidates in 2011. Half of these parties, for example, have asked Dr. ElBaradei to be their candidate of choice. Dr. ElBaradei hesitates, preferring instead to run as an independent."
But Egyptian-American academic Saad Eddin Ibrahim, who spent three years in prison before being acquitted of charges of defaming the Egyptian state, said that ElBaradei was a charismatic candidate facing an enormous logistical challenge to organize a grassroots campaign.
"Mr. ElBaradei will have a good chance, and I think millions of Egyptians are willing to rally behind him," he said. "And if external powers could also demand that election, next election be free and fair and transparent, under international supervision, I think we have a very good chance of changing Egypt."
@camanpour on Twitter
Well.. I really liked that one Christiane. As an Egyptian I had to laugh about all what Mr.Ezz said because he tries to fool the foreign media. People here are fed up and everybody is expecting passing the presidency to the son.
It 's easy to laugh, but when in charge i bet its not easy. Speculations really dont work in any society, they only mislead, whether son or cousin, the main thing is a chance, and this is what i see crystalizing over there.
Mr. Elbaradei’s potential candidacy inspires hopes really; encouraging news for Egypt. Mr. Ezz put himself in a very defensive position by continuous attacks on Mr. Elbaradei, by proposing one-way solution of joining his party (very convenient, this way no opposition) and by self-denial of governmental wrong-doings thus invalidating his own response.
On the other hand, I think the message about external powers on demanding, supporting and supervising the election was a bit worrying. What is the extent of that support? Because as we know, the line can be very easily crossed between support and intervene.
As history showed for many decades over and over again, any outer support can jeopardize the people’s movement. I think that it should not be forgotten that if there will be any valid advancement on the way to democracy, first of all it should be empowered and owned only and only by the people defined by internal synergies. Otherwise, it is a matter of time that any kind of (even good-will) supervision backfires… If it is a matter of time, then maybe more patience is needed but at least it will be slow and steady, better digested…
every honest egyptians like ElBaradei,god bless him
The coming political arena in Egypt will witness a battle between an autocratic led state, known as 'fate', and a youthful breathing movement for change and democracy led under 'hope'. Yet with the emergency law part of the ruling dynamics, the presidential outcome, well at least for the time being, becomes inevitably predictable.
Egypt’s Fate after Mubarak
Dear Amanpour,
I always enjoy watching your show; however today, I was disappointed with Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrhim interview. You gave him many opportunities to mislead the people. Here are some examples:
1 – He claims that Egyptian constitution is too long and purposely anti ElBaradei. Wrong, I like him to name any respectable country which has not similar constitution; look at Unites States Constitution.
2 – He claimed it is good for ElBaradei to run for election. Wrong, ElBaradei never been active in any Egyptian politics and it is very naive to compare him to Gandhi or Martin Luther King. ElBaradei has not been living in Egypt for over 25 years because he was making money overseas and was not in a political exile. I hate to say it, he does not know much about the Egyptian problems, etc.
3 – He claims that Mubarak is grooming his son Gamal for the presidency. What is wrong with that; Bush Senior did that in the democratic USA. It is up to the Egyptian to elect him or not.
4 – He claimed that Egypt has 1.4 million state security agents. What are the sources?
Thank you for your good shows, very informative.
We agree with and support your ideas Dr. ElBaradei, but we need to see your steps on the road...all the people are waiting for one actual step to follow... Good luck for all of us
Dear AMANPOUR, till death do us part in this world,we will ever live to appreciate your kind of person.My suggestion to you is that,please try to look for a natural,kind,loving,caring,ploite,sociable and talented journalist of your kind before you live this world please,if at all there is reason for God to take you away from us. Because your absence will definitely be disastrous and shall have a catastrophic results for the planet, that I can assure you.
what am I saying here is, I quite appreciate your interview with the Nobel prize laureate Mohammed El-Baradei ,who in an interview with you he said" My primary goal is to see my country Egypt making a genuine shift towards Democracy."Which means there is no democracy in Egypt uptil now. That reminds me of your Muslim Scholar Tariq Ramadan,who has been going from to and fro in the western world, where Democracy is real in its nature and overflowing, and looking for where else(western democracy)will go,and has not still found its way to the Arabs world.
But this Muslim Scholar has been going up and down in the western world to teach them what democracy mean. To him Democracy is when all women are covered and not seen and heard in the public and everybody must appreciate the fact that Islam is the only religion that the world must obey and that is when there is full democracy in the world.
I wish he knows that he is an Egyptian by origin,that he should go and work hand to hand with Mohammed El-Baradei to bring the kind of Democracy that El-Baradei is talking about,that is lacking in Egypt, and to leave the western world alone please.The western world says, they can never be ARABANISED,but their kind of justice and fairness,democracy and liberty can not be converted into religious democracy.I am a muslim from Bauchi state -Nigeria, but I understand that,a number of thoughtful people have often asked this question, why is it that,it is only in countries with Christian orientation and influence,that a man is free to think as a reasonable human being,in the way he likes and to believe what he wants to believe ?. If this man Tariq Ramadan knows that he is from Egypt,and that in Egypt a man of the world like El-Baradei,( with all due respect to his person and offices), is still at this 21st century finding it difficult to express himself in his own country,but is free to say whatever he want to say in the western world, and somebody who is of the Egyptian origin calling himself a freedom fighter,and can not go to where the people need freedom and fight for them,but will be fighting for freedom where there is an overflow of freedom and justice. Please AMANPOUR,can you give me only one reason with your highly respected intelligence of all in this world,why we should not be suspecious of this muslim scholar in the west ?. Let him go to IRAN,SAUDI,SYRIA,YEMEN,TUNISIA,ALGERIA,AFGHANISTAN,MOROCO,NIGERIA, ZIMBABWE,SUDAN, EGYPT, etc and say what he use to say in the west and fight for democracy for the muslims and see whether he will sleep in his house well that night.
So he should stop deceiving himself on the issue that he want to educate the western world if he can't go to Egypt and help the respected and dignified man of the world El-Baradei to fight for Democracy in his own home. for the language goes thus" CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME. He need go and teach this 81-year-old Mubarak who has governed Egypt since the assassination ANWAR SADAT,where has Tariq been to all this while,with his scholarship ?.Nobody should therefore ever imagine that what this muslim scholar has been fighting for in the west is of good and not of evil.
Yakubu MAGAJI
Bauchi State-Nigeria.
King Farouq was ousted by the Egyptian Army (Nasser/Sadat/etc..) .
The Egyptian Monarchy was replaced by Egyptian Tribalism/Nepotism.
If Sadat were not assassinated; Sadat's son would be the Successor to the Egyptian throne!
There is NO Democracy in Egypt. it is a POLICE State Like the former Romania!