Egypt’s presidential electoral commission has banned leading opposition candidate Ayman Nur’s campaign television spot on the grounds the theme song had been plagiarised, Nur’s spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Gamila Ismail branded the move ”one of the dirtiest tricks of the campaign” for the September 7 presidential poll and blamed President Hosni Mubarak’s camp, alleged by the opposition to hold sway over the electoral commission.
”We can’t start our television campaign because the committee says it has received a complaint from someone who claims property of the song. We are in deep trouble now because the song can be heard throughout the clip,” she said.
The song was commissioned by Nur’s Ghad party and is sung by Khaled Yusef but the commission alleges that it draws heavily on another song by poet Kawthar Mustafa used in a film by the famed Yusef Chahine.
Commission official Ahmed Selim confirmed that the clip had not been approved after Mustafa and the singer who interpreted the song — Mohammed Munir — filed a complaint.
”Even if this was the case, the matter should go to court, they have no right to stop our television campaign,” Ismail said.
Nur has been the most virulent of Mubarak’s challengers in the campaign and has repeatedly accused the regime of trying to undermine his election bid.
He is currently on trial for what he says are trumped up charges of forgery aimed at discrediting his campaign.
”Raise your voice. End your silence. Talk to us. Countrymen, your opinion matters to us. Be courageous. Speak your words. Continue your path to freedom,” goes the Nur campaign song.
”What are you waiting for? Kefaya! Your wishes can still come true.”
Kefaya means ”Enough” in Arabic and is the name of a movement which has staged a string of anti-Mubarak protests in recent months and has ties to the Ghad party although it officially called for a boycott of the election.
Ismail charged that the challenge to Nur’s main video clip — which was due to be aired at prime time on public television — was deliberately launched when the Ghad campaign embarked on a three-day trip to southern Egypt.
She said a hastily-crafted alternative video had been submitted to the commission to fill the reserved airtime. – Sapa-AFP