Egypt’s Prime Minister, Essam Sharaf, this weekend said delaying a September parliamentary
election would give parties more time to prepare, as the nation debates its future
after nearly thirty years of rule by Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in a revolution
on February 11th. His comments come at a time of mounting calls by liberal
and secular groups to delay the election until a new constitution is drafted.
The
political uncertainty in the country is leading to economic hardship for many people,
especially those dependent on the tourism industry.
“Life in Egypt is tough
for many Egyptians at the moment,” said Oliver Pearce, Policy Officer at the charity
Christian Aid. “Egypt has been suffering a number of crises. Primarily, people have
found it difficult to sustain livelihoods because unemployment is rising, in particular
in the tourism and construction sectors. Further to that, a number of migrants that
previously were working in Libya, and sending money home to families in Egypt, have
fled Libya due to the conflict there and returning to their home communities.”
He
told Vatican Radio this is putting a strain on society.
“What we see in Egypt
now is that many communities have a number of people who are looking for work and
are unable to support their families, and added to the political uncertainty and security
situation in Egypt, it means that families are finding it very difficult to cope with
the existing situation,” Pearce said.
Listen to the full interview by
Charles Collins with Oliver Pearce: