DATE=9/7/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=EGYPT / MUBARAK (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-253543
BYLINE=RICHARD ENGEL
DATELINE=CAIRO
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Egyptian newspapers are downplaying
Monday's attempt on the life of Egypt's President
Hosni Mubarak. The attack has some Egyptians
worried over what would have happened if Mr.
Mubarak had been killed. From Cairo, Richard
Engel has details.
TEXT: Egyptian newspapers printed only a small
announcement that President Mubarak survived what
they call an attack. Police describe the man who
rushed at the president with a knife as a lone
madman who was prone to violence. President
Mubarak suffered only a few scratches before his
bodyguards shot and killed the attacker.
But the botched assassination attempt, as some
view it, has revived a longstanding concern in
Egypt about the nation's political future.
President Mubarak, who has been at Egypt's helm
since his predecessor, Anwar Sadat, was
assassinated 18 years ago, has no vice-
president to succeed him. And Mr. Mubarak does
not seem intent on naming one.
According to Egypt's constitution, the speaker of
parliament would assume power for three months if
the president died in office. Analysts say a new
president would then be selected after
complicated negotiations among Egypt's political
elite and the powerful military establishment.
Who today would become president, however,
remains a guessing game often played out by
journalists and diplomats with little consensus.
President Mubarak, who is 71 years old, is
currently preparing for a national plebiscite
scheduled for later this month (eds: September
26). The vote is widely expected to secure him a
fourth, six-year term in office. But the vote is
no contest. Mr. Mubarak is the only candidate.
And there has been no campaigning or issues
debated. Posters of the president, which have
sprung up only recently, simply ask Egyptians to
vote, "yes."
//OPT// In President Mubarak's three previous
plebiscites, he reportedly received more than 98
percent of the public's approval. //END OPT//
But Monday's aborted attack in the city of Port
Said has reminded Egyptians that Mr. Mubarak
cannot remain president forever. He has survived
three known assassination attempts -- the most
serious of which was in 1995 when Islamic
militants attacked his motorcade while he was
traveling in Ethiopia.
Although few Egyptians think Egypt would collapse
into anarchy if President Mubarak were killed or
died suddenly, many of the nation's 63 million
people are too young to have known previous
leaders including Anwar Sadat, Gamal Abdel Nasser
or King Farouk. And while most Egyptians say
they would like more democracy in their country,
many also take comfort in having the stability of
a known political leader. (Signed)
NEB/RHE/PCF/LTD/KL
07-Sep-1999 10:33 AM EDT (07-Sep-1999 1433 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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