All the Gulf States enjoy a luxurious life, but at the same time they are deprived of the freedom of expression, and the Gulf citizens have no chance to reach the thrones or the senior politicians that would allow them to make any changes. All the Gulf States are either absolute monarchies or sultanates. The thrones are inherited, and there is no way to criticize the past or the present, because all people know the situation. Usually, the king, Emir or Sultan is the absolute ruler and leader, who controls everything, leaving no room for anyone else to make a decision or do anything without his approval. These are the causes behind the lack of democracy in the Gulf States. These countries have People’s Councils, Shura Councils and parliaments, but they are powerless, and so-called representatives of the people convene to take photographs every week, because they represent themselves only. I defy any one of them to make any change whatsoever or correct any mistake in the public policy.

DUPLICATE The issue of democracy in the Arab countries has been a serious problem from the beginning of the last century until today. The rulers in most of the Arab countries remain in office for many decades, even if they have been unsuccessful in leading the state and taking care of its affairs. For example, President Hosni Mubarak assumed power in Egypt in 1980 and is still in power today, and we see that Egypt now suffers from serious economic problems, in addition to unemployment, and the housing crisis, which has escalated over time. Recently, and in response to international pressures, the Egyptian government decided to organize legislative elections, which are supposed to be fair. Obviously, President Mubarak will run in the presidential elections to win a sixth term. The question that poses itself here is, if President Hosni Mubarak has been the president over the past thirty years and has failed to solve the problems of the Egyptian street, will he be able to solve these problems in the new term? Is this legal under the Egyptian constitution? At the other end of the Arab world, some Gulf States are rich, have a strong economy, and do not suffer from economic problems; such is the case in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, etc….

I think that the ruling party in Egypt “has expired.” Throughout the years in which the ruling party has been in power, Egypt has seen nothing but setbacks and the spread of corruption, poverty, hunger, a housing crisis and high prices. All these crises took place during the time of this party and its leader Hosni Mubarak, and the suffering still continues to this day. Therefore, the Egyptian people are eager for a change now, more than anything else, because they know that they have given this party many opportunities. Some other religious extremists may wish to elect the Muslim Brotherhood, for example, to prevent the continued spread of corruption and its shameful manifestations in Egypt, such as indecent clothing, to keep the country from immorality. There is more than one expectation for this election that is about to take place. I do not think that any of these expectations are in the interest of the ruling party, unless this party releases its members to exercise the pressure for which they are known.

Despite the large-scale government propaganda, I do not think that Egypt is a democratic and free country where the government does not restrict people’s freedoms. These are empty slogans; the Egyptian citizen is deprived of democracy, and his rights are significantly limited. I wish to see Egypt moving forward and the Egyptians enjoying democracy and receiving civilized treatment, like the people in Europe and the USA, where democracy is the foundation of all laws. However, in Egypt, we have nothing but torture, the restriction of freedoms, and the elimination of democracy. Even the elections that the Egyptian citizen has been anticipating for many years will be organized under oppression and threats, as well as electoral fraud. So, where is the democracy that the government and Hosni Mubarak are talking about? Does democracy means silencing people and destroying whoever dares to oppose the regime? The continued lack of democracy in Egypt will take it to the abyss and cause severe deterioration in the role of this great Arab country regarding the Arab and international cases, because it is living in backwardness incarnate.

I want to ask all the opposition parties in Egypt to cooperate and not to miss this chance to prove themselves at the local and international levels, through heavy participation in the elections, and by avoiding the withdrawal of any of the opposition parties, despite the ruling party’s declarations. In fact, the latter aim at sowing despair among all the opposition parties, so that they will declare their withdrawal. In addition, they must share a mutual trust with the people, being the only voice that reflects their inner thoughts. As for me, I would like everyone to participate, and I would like there to be coordination between the opposition forces and their parties, so as to win as many votes as possible and to gain the people’s confidence that they will be able to change things if they are elected without any fear, pressure or hesitation, in order to save the country. In so doing, the election results will be in their favor; the ruling party will be replaced in Egypt, Hosni Mubarak will be also replaced and prevented from staying on for another term of the presidency or passing down the power to his son Jamal. Otherwise, the opposition parties will lose the efforts they have made to win these elections.

It is essential to have international observers for the upcoming elections in Egypt, because the candidates, including the ruling party led by President Hosni Mubarak, have already begun to exchange accusations of attempting to forge the elections. Thus, I believe that the best solution is to bring international observers to the country, so that the results be convincing to the people and everyone else, since they will follow the electoral process and prevent any breaches or cases of forgery. That is what will make the elections free, clean and honest, and without any violation or manipulation in the final results.

As an Egyptian citizen, I honestly think that it is high time for a change, and there is no room for Hosni Mubarak to remain in power or to just play a formal game of change by putting his son in as his successor to the throne. In fact, we already know that he has been preparing for that day for a long time. Besides, I want to point out the fact that Egypt is not private property. Thus, everyone and all parties have the right to share power. The leadership of the country is not confined to a single family. In fact, today, Hosni Mubarak hands over power to his son. The next time, his son will pass it down to his son, and so on and so forth. O Egyptians, you must not pave the way for such an idea to prevail from the beginning, so it will not continue with the younger generations in the future. In fact, everyone should have only one term to lead the country, and if he fails, change should be the only solution. The change must be radical, not by putting his son in as his successor. Thus, everything including the ruling party must be altered. We must come with a new party and a new ideology, which can serve the people and their ambitions.

I urge the Egyptian government to apply democracy correctly, and to establish a real democracy. The Egyptian people should be able to express their opinions openly and frankly, according to the reality they are experiencing. The citizens should not be punished for speaking freely. The parties and the security and intelligence institutions subsidiary to the Egyptian government should give them freedom of choice in the elections, and not oppress them. They must allow the people to choose their own destiny and not interfere with them, because that will cause chaos in the Egyptian street. So I ask the Egyptian government to support democracy in Egypt and allow the Egyptian people to enjoy democracy; these are still just slogans now in Egypt.

If there were a genuine democratic system in Egypt, it would have prevented Hosni Mubarak from toying with the potential of the Egyptian people and their country by running for another presidential term.

Egypt is one of the Arab countries that suffers from many problems, such as a deteriorating economic situation, rampant unemployment and administrative corruption, in addition to many other problems in the infrastructure. In my opinion, the main cause of all these problems is the lack of democracy in this country. Some people may find it strange to draw a connection between democracy and solving the economic problems or unemployment, the housing crisis and the other problems that affect Egyptian society. The answer is that the government is responsible for all these problems, and it has been running Egypt for the past thirty years. Hence, the solutions of this government to these problems, if any, are not good. Nevertheless, they have used the same solutions over these many years, because the people in authority have not been replaced. On the other hand, if there had been a democratic system that allowed the regime to be changed peacefully and to be replaced with a new one that monitors the negligent officials, bringing them to justice or even replacing them with more efficient officials, we would have witnessed new talents taking over the responsibility for the country. They might have come up with new and innovative solutions. For example, if Egypt had had a real and strong parliamentary system that could undertake questioning of the president and the negligent ministers, many of the problems of the Egyptian society would have been solved.

The Egyptian opposition parties must unite with the people, so that they will join forces and vote for whoever is qualified to serve the country. Therefore, opposition parties must intensively participate in the elections and coordinate among each other, so as to win. They must also unite with the rest of the voters and not leave the right of suffrage for others, so as to increase the number of votes which seek change. In so doing, we will create the right to change. Besides, with the participation of opposition parties, there will be more votes that want to change the regime and the government, which has held on to power. Furthermore, opposition, internal and external votes must be united, so that opposition parties will be able to participate in the elections, because the results could be in favor of the opposition and the nominees of some Egyptian factions. In fact, these Egyptians want to change the cabinet and the presidency, to meet the demands for change and renewal for the common interest and for the Egyptians who have gotten tired of waiting because of the injustices, the suppression of liberty, and the denying of the people’s rights to democracy. Thus, opposition parties must seize this rare opportunity, since it is a golden one for change. In fact, the participation of the opposition will increase the number of votes in favor of eligible people whom the opposition and the Egyptians deem appropriate for leadership. They must not miss this opportunity for the sake of public interest, because people are a charge entrusted to the politicians, the government officials and the government. That is why we must select them carefully, and make sure that they are fair, truly committed, trustworthy and protectors of Egypt.

I ask for international supervision of the elections that are based on fraud, from which the Egyptian people have long suffered, because of a government that has totally controlled the situation to monopolize power without giving the opportunity to others to contribute to the advancement and development of the country. Therefore, there should be international supervision, in order to make sure of the fairness and integrity of the elections that the people are taking part in. They should make sure that the people will be able to vote for whomever they deem appropriate to be responsible for solving their problems and providing for all their needs. Thus, the government should be fair and equitable, and it should give the opportunity to someone else to lead the country and provide better services for the people, who are going to vote for the person who is worthy of gaining their trust. Therefore, organizations should accept the presence of international supervision, in order to guarantee the people the right to get nominated, and to make sure that those voted for will get their votes.

President Hosni Mubarak should leave a good legacy. History will remember everything; and it would be better for him not to be mentioned as something bad that would distort his many decades of service to the people. Why is he holding on to power this way? Is it out of greed for governance, or for personal interests? I think that the Egyptian government and President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak should open the opportunity for young people and new faces, even if he is elected again, which will definitely happen, because the Egyptian authorities and government institutions will all work in favor of President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak. Therefore, President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak should order the election centers to be fair and not to attempt to commit any fraud. Many people will work in his interest and in his party's favor, with the use of blank voting cards or the exploitation of cards that have not been used by the voters. He should make sure that the elections are fair and that they improve his image in the eyes of the Egyptian citizen.

The most obvious example of the inheritance of power is what is happening today in Egypt. Indeed, Hosni Mubarak has been in power since 1980 without elections or a people’s referendum, and he still holds on to power today. If we examine the accomplishments that Hosni Mubarak has achieved in Egypt and for the Egyptians, we will not find anything noteworthy. In fact, the Egyptian economy is collapsing, the health care sector is suffering neglect from the lack of medicines and the required equipment in state hospitals, and the educational sector is very delapidated. In addition, the housing issue remains unresolved, despite the great development in the rest of the world . In addition, drugs and crimes are spreading greatly, day after day. As for human rights, it is pointless to comment on them, since the torture and intimidation of people by state departments have become unbearable. Therefore, after this great failure of the state administration, the Egyptian president must withdraw from power and allow other Egyptians to serve the country, because the people of Egypt are the people of civilization. Besides, there are many people who are capable of serving the country, but there is an Arabic proverb which says: “I called, but it was like talking to a stone wall.” Indeed, instead of being ashamed of his government’s poor achievements and utter failure, Hosni Mubarak wants to be nominated for another presidential session. How amazing to be eighty-three years old now and still ask for more!! In fact, the retirement age in Egypt is 65. Thus, if you are eager to serve Egypt’s interest and provide Egyptians with services, you must respect the Egyptian law, which states that you must retire, unless you do not consider yourself an employee and are above the law. Still worse, Hosni Mubarak wants to nominate his son Gamal to rule the country. Do you think that Egypt is devoid of any capable people and that the Mubarak family is the only one who can lead the nation to the safe side? In fact, this irony must be stopped, otherwise the future of Egypt will be unknown, and the situation of the nation will get worse and worse.

It is impossible for this government to take control of the country without having fair elections. In order to achieve that, there should be neutral local and international observers, because everybody knows that corruption and bribery are widespread in Egypt. Therefore, it would be risky to hold these elections without the presence of observers, especially since the government that is organizing the elections is itself responsible for observing them. This raises many questions regarding the legitimacy of these elections. Bringing in international observers to supervise elections is a normal thing, and it happens in most of the third world. The last legislative elections that took place in Iraq, for example, were fair according to the testimony of the United Nations. These elections were organized under the supervision of many local and international observers from various parts of the world, even some from Egypt. Why doesn't the same happen in Egypt? I think that refusing to allow international observers to enter and supervise the elections in Egypt only raises doubts about the fairness of the elections. Egyptians do not want to repeat the same experience of electing a government that has held on to power for thirty years and provided nothing for the Egyptian citizens. Egypt is a big country, and it has the capacity to form a government that is capable of promoting the economic situation, and that respects human rights.

After the Egyptian government’s complete failure, the people should exercise their constitutional right of expressing their opinion through the upcoming legislative elections. However, if the situation remains as it is now, the Egyptian elections will be falsified by Hosni Mubarak and his ruling party. I tell Hosni Mubarak and his party: please let the people live freely and have their say without any fraud.

Hosni Mubarak’s resignation is what all the Egyptian people demand. Hosni, you should know that God is watching you, and He will punish you for everything that you have done to the Egyptians. So, wake up and spend what is left of your life worshipping God and praying for His blessing and forgiveness for oppressing the people you were responsible for.

I demand that the Egyptian government deals with honor and credibility in regards to the upcoming Egyptian elections.