OnIslam.net

CAIRO – Worried about their revolution and feeling unrepresented by existing parties, Egypt’s youth are running for the country’s first election since Hosni Mubarak’s downfall with a dream of having their voice heard.

"Whether we win or lose in this election, we'll keep going,” youth activist and parliamentary candidate Shahir George told Reuters.

“We will evaluate our mistakes, learn from them and prepare for the next battle. There are still many to fight.

"The street will always be there," he added with a smile.

Hundreds of young Egyptians are running in the parliamentary elections, whose first phase starts on Monday, November 28.

Many are worried that the revolution, which they started, was incomplete and they feel unrepresented by existing political parties.

"Tahrir Square and all squares across the country are regaining the revolution from the hands of parties that have traded it in for power and those who avoided coming back to the place where freedom was born," said one pamphlet distributed in Tahrir, where protesters have been camped out for a week.

Although a quarter of Egypt's 80 million people are aged between 18 and 29, youth candidates may not necessarily win seats in the election.

They believe it is vital to compete -- and also to make their voices heard in the street.

"The new Egypt will be more youthful because youth have thrust themselves upon the political scene," Abdullah Helmy, a member of the newly formed Reform and Development Party, told Reuters.

"All political groups are now racing to strengthen themselves with those youth," said Helmy, who formed a union of activists in Tahrir during the anti-Mubarak uprising.

He now coordinates the party's election list, which he says includes more than 140 young candidates to attract voters looking for a clean break from the relics of the past.

Egypt’s Future

Many young Egyptians believe that the future of their country lies in the hands of its youth.

"It is a dream and a goal that an ordinary citizen who does not belong to any party may have a voice in parliament,” said 34-year-old candidate Yasser Ali, who never voted in Mubarak’s era.

“Change won't happen through political calculations or agendas, it will only come through the spirit we had in the square," added Ali as he hung up bright yellow posters with a ‘Yes to Youth’ slogan.

With a dozen other volunteers, Ali walks the streets of his district, handing out pamphlets and talking to voters in a last- minute appeal that he hopes will turn the odds in his favor.

"People genuinely want youth in parliament, they are sick of the old people, the ties and the suits,” he said.

“They want our young force to be unleashed," added Ali, who owns a small business.

But he is virtually unknown in a district where more than 100 other candidates are running.

Egypt's new constituencies are bigger than before, making it hard for newcomers to break in. Most youth candidates simply don't have the money or resources.

In the past, many candidates of Mubarak’s now-defunct National Democratic Party and other parties used money and favors to buy votes to secure parliamentary seats from which to further their business interests under a cloak of immunity.

Sitting in a coffee-house in his Cairo constituency, where he is running on an Egypt Freedom Party ticket, George said the challenge was to forge a new model of politics.

"We won't have a young parliament, but Egypt as a whole now has a more youthful face. The opportunities available for youth representation are very promising," George said.

"I want to be seen on the street not just as a rebel, but as a viable political alternative," he added.

"Even if I don't win, it is important to participate to show that youth aren't just capable of toppling the regime, but have a vision for Egypt."

The uprising has spawned dozens of pressure groups eager to encourage civic participation, monitor voting or expose candidates seen as tainted by links to Mubarak's old party.

"Revolutionary action is not just about protesting, it is about developing pressure groups. This is the evolution we need," said Seif Abou Zaid of "Ehmy Soutek" or "Protect your Vote."

His group, run by volunteers and active in more than 15 provinces, scores candidates on their commitment to reform, aiming to ensure that the next parliament will have a "pro-revolutionary" bloc, regardless of party affiliation.

Young activists are also trying to monitor voting and raise political awareness in a country where votes have often gone to the highest bidder and turnouts have traditionally been low.

They seek endorsements from respected public figures and use musical numbers or cartoon flyers to spread the message.

"The vision is to empower citizens. That is the real goal," said Abou Zaid, vowing to see the revolution through, whether via elections or other forms of political mobilization.

Farida Makar, one of his colleagues in Ehmy Soutek, shares his view.