On the 2015–2016 Student Union Elections

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialists

After weeks of vague and contradictory statements about student elections, the Minister of Higher Education finally announced the start of the university electoral process. This decision comes after the authorities have completed their final preparations to dismantle what remains of the student movement and confiscate all its tools and means of resistance—chief among them, the student union. These preparations were not made overnight; they were preceded by two long years of systematic security repression and an all-out assault on freedom of expression, organization, and protest within universities.

Silencing universities has been—and remains—a core objective of the regime, as they are one of the leading centers of opposition that must be subdued—no matter the cost. This has included killing students on campus, abducting them, and arbitrarily arresting and expelling thousands simply for being suspected of participating in any movement that dares to challenge the regime’s control over universities since the generals seized power in 2013. In pursuit of docile universities and a student movement that does not become a thorn in its side, the regime has gradually established over the past two years a tightly controlled security and administrative system designed to erase all the gains of the January Revolution and the decades of student struggles that preceded it. This system was ultimately solidified by issuing a new student charter—a top-down decision imposed without any student participation in its drafting or discussion, which will now govern the upcoming elections.

Yet, even these measures were not enough for the security apparatus. The electoral system was overhauled entirely just days before the elections began, introducing additional barriers to candidacy. A new provision was added, effectively allowing for the disqualification of any student who does not align with the regime’s interests—under the all-too-familiar charge of belonging to a “terrorist organization.”
Alongside tightening its security grip on universities, the regime has worked to establish and strengthen a new student organization to serve as its proxy on campuses. Thus, the project known as “The Voice of Egypt’s Students” emerged from the security agencies’ offices and became a reality, spearheaded by figures known for their unwavering loyalty to the current regime—such as Mohamed Badran, former president of the Egyptian Student Union and leader of the pro-regime Mostaqbal Watan (Nation’s Future) party. With unlimited resources, this group has organized training camps and workshops, offering promises of travel opportunities and employment after graduation to attract students. “The Voice of Egypt’s Students” now plans to contest the elections with complete coordination between university administrations and security forces, aiming to seize control of student unions and turn them into tools for advancing the regime’s agenda and promoting its decisions among students.

The elections are taking place in a climate where relentless repression has led to widespread disengagement from political participation and activism among students. The crackdown has weakened opposition student movements and further isolated them, making boycotting the elections seem like the easiest and most convenient option—especially given the prevailing sense of despair among many student leaders who have endured two years of relentless repression.

However, boycotting at this stage of the struggle will serve no purpose. On the contrary, it will only further the regime’s goal of emptying universities of any opposition and closing the door on all dissenting voices in the future.

While we reject the new student charter and its amendments and express deep doubts about the fairness of the elections, we firmly believe that participation is a duty for all profound student forces committed to change. In our view, this election provides a limited but crucial space that must be seized to mobilize, organize, and campaign among students to defend the gains and principles of the January 2011 Revolution—principles the regime is determined to erase.

We will enter the student elections, standing shoulder to shoulder with our colleagues from various movements who are willing to fight based on defending student rights and freedoms against tyranny and systematic repression.

We will be a thorn in the throat of the regime and its student proxies at every opportunity, and we will not willingly cede any battleground to them. Regardless of the election results or their fairness, we will continue working among our fellow students by all means necessary to build the broadest possible student movement committed to raising the banner of change on university campuses.