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Al-Ahram Weekly 14 - 20 September 2000 Issue No. 499 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 14 - 20 September 2000 Issue No. 499
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region Interview International Economy Opinion Culture Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters An eye on fairness
On Sunday, President Mubarak will officially announce the dates of Egypt's first parliamentary elections of the 21st century. Putting earlier pledges to hold free and fair elections into practice, the government accepted the Supreme Constitutional Court's ruling in July that judges must supervise all stages of the voting, starting with casting the ballots and ending with the process of counting the votes and declaring the results. Allowing full judicial supervision of the electoral process means that the government has acceded to a long-standing demand by opposition parties and independent human rights groups: holding elections over several stages instead of insisting on conducting the voting throughout Egypt in one day. Despite security constraints and the increased costs incurred by holding elections in three stages, as planned, the government conceded that it would not be able to provide a judge for each polling station if it insisted on holding elections in a single day.These important steps should ensure that voting will take place in a healthy atmosphere, and that the results accurately reflect the people's decision. Interior Minister Habib El-Adli has also vowed that the police will not tolerate the intimidation tactics that marred the 1995 elections. Adli's record so far proves that he means what he says, and hopefully this year's elections do not witness the violence seen five years ago.
With the reduction of the number of polling stations from 42,000 to only 15,152, the Interior Ministry will also face the difficult task of reviewing the lists of voters and removing the names of the dead and those who are no longer eligible to vote. Producing accurate lists will not only facilitate the candidates' job in reaching voters, but will also create the necessary confidence among all those running for seats in parliament that Egypt will witness truly free elections.
Egypt has gone a long way toward economic reform, and many hope that its transformation will be combined with similar political reforms. Holding free elections that yield results accepted by all parties is the most important political reform Egyptians can anticipate at this stage.
