Egypt: Mubarak clings to power
2005-09-05 09:45
Cairo - At 77, Hosni Mubarak is set to win a fifth mandate at Egypt's helm but for the first time the "rais" has allowed others to challenge him and might not emerge unscathed from the pluralist campaign.
After 24 years in power, Mubarak is already the second longest-serving ruler in the region behind Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and is widely expected to be voted in for another six years on September 7.
"After 65 years of serving my country, I pledge to lead the nation with strength and determination if you give me your votes on polling day," he said during a campaign rally in the northern coastal city of Alexandria.
Egyptians have been used to re-electing Mubarak through a referendum approving a single parliament-nominated candidate.
But nine other candidates are in the fray this time and with the eyes of the international community on Egypt, Mubarak has played the democracy game.
Promises of a better future
The jet black hair, dark eyes and aquiline nose of the burly air force commander turned father of the nation have towered over Egyptian life for a quarter of a century.
While Mubarak posters still massively outnumber those of his competitors on Cairo's streets, the veteran leader has shown a new face to Egyptians during the three-week presidential campaign.
A more humane and relaxed Mubarak insisted on his concern for the hardships of "the man in the street, these people who have a limited income".
He promised to double the wages of low income civil servants and create more than four million jobs over the next six years.
His influential son Gamal was behind him every step of the way, masterminding an unprecedented United States-style campaign, complete with hired pollsters and a snazzy website (www.mubarak2005.com).
Mubarak slammed his rivals' platforms as "hollow slogans" but accepted to step down from his throne and jump in the political fray. He even gave his first interview to an independent newspaper.
Mounting pressure
In February 2005, under considerable international and domestic pressure, Mubarak proposed a constitutional reform allowing for multi-candidate presidential elections.
Although observers and opposition leaders claim Mubarak retains the means to grant himself the score he chooses, the man who was dubbed Egypt's "last Pharaoh" no longer seems untouchable.
Under Mubarak's reign, bureaucracy has swollen to colossal proportions and the gap between the rich and poor has grown ever wider.
But in the eyes of many Egyptians and much of the international community, he remains the best guarantee of stability as the political void he created around him over two decades has prevented the rise of a viable alternative.
Whilst gently prodding him to implement reform, Washington still sees Mubarak as a strategic ally, the man who has kept Islamists at bay and the only one who can maintain stability in the most populous Arab country amid a tense regional context.