The Egyptian authorities have brought in new media rules seen as restricting the ability of independent broadcasters to provide live television coverage of next month’s parliamentary election.
Private production companies that provide live broadcast services to independent television stations have been told in recent days by the telecoms regulator that their standing licences have been revoked, and that they will now need to apply for new ones from the Ministry of Information
Companies say it is not clear when these will be issued. Operating broadcasting equipment without a licence is illegal.
“It means we will not be able to do any work from the street,” said Nader Gohar, the owner of Cairo News Company.
“I won’t be able to station equipment in front of an election office so that a television correspondent can report from the spot or interview candidates live.”
The new restrictions come at a time of political uncertainty, with Egypt on the cusp of a transition after three decades of rule by Hosni Mubarak, the president. Presidential elections are due next year, and many believe Mr Mubarak’s son, Gamal, will be the candidate of the ruling National Democratic party.
But opposition groups have been trying to mount challenges against what they see as an unacceptable dynastic succession. Officials have said that the new rules are aimed at organising the broadcasters and not at censoring or restricting coverage by independent stations ahead of the election.
However, many analysts are concerned that this is an attempt to reverse gains made by the independent media over recent years.
“We ask for some transparency,” said Rasha Abdulla, chair of the journalism department at the American University in Cairo. “It cannot be that every day we wake up and there is some decision that by coincidence adds to the restrictions on freedom of expression rather than to the diversity of opinion.”
Independent television and media coverage in the last parliamentary election, in 2005, was instrumental in highlighting violence and irregularities on polling day.
After independent candidates affiliated with the banned Muslim Brotherhood opposition gained 20 per cent of the seats in parliament in 2005, the authorities introduced constitutional changes doing away with a previous requirement that all balloting should take place in the presence of a member of the judiciary.
Opposition critics say the constitutional amendment has removed an important safeguard against election rigging.
Egyptian civil society organisations will be allowed to observe voting, but the government will ban international monitors.
Mr Gohar said that broadcast companies had been told verbally by officials that they could go on working without licences until new ones had been issued.
However, he complained that this informal arrangement left them vulnerable to accusations that they were infringing the law and to punishments of up to three years in jail.
He said that he was now being extremely careful about the studio guests brought by clients who booked airtime through his company.
“If anyone says they want to interview a senior leader of the Brotherhood, I will refuse,” said Mr Gohar.
“If a station like al-Jazeera TV [often critical of the Egyptian government] asks me to send a unit out on the street, I will say no,” he said.