Transparency International asks Egyptian presidential candidates to make a public commitment to anti-corruption

With the Egyptian presidential campaign officially starting tomorrow, Transparency International calls on candidates to publicly commit to fighting corruption by supporting the anti-corruption group’s five-point pledge which provides a starting point for Egypt's anti-corruption efforts.

“We call on the presidential candidates to promise an accountable and effective government. They must make a genuine, public commitment to end the decades of nepotism and cronyism of former regimes that brought millions into the streets demanding social justice,” said Lamiaa Kalawi, Transparency International’s regional coordinator for Egypt.

Transparency International urges the candidates to publicly commit to a well-defined agenda for tackling corruption by taking serious action toward fulfilling Egypt’s obligations as part of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which it ratified in 2005. The public pledge includes these five points:

1. Within six months of assuming office establish an expert legislative committee that has broad powers to strengthen current anticorruption legislation.

2. Establish a politically independent and well-resourced anticorruption commission with prosecutorial powers that unifies the work of current anticorruption bodies.

3. Establish specialised independent courts tasked to deal with corruption cases alone and in a timely manner.

4. Create legislation to protect whistleblowers and encourage the reporting of corruption incidents.

5. Create legislation for access to information, enabling civil society and citizens’ participation in monitoring and holding public officials to account.

Millions of citizens behind the Arab Spring protested rampant corruption across the Middle East and North Africa, leading them to drive out several leaders including Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. Yet nearly 2 in 3 Egyptians believe corruption has increased since the Arab Spring.

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