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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 16 - 22 November 2000 Issue No.508 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 16 - 22 November 2000 Issue No.508
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Registering the aftershocks
By Amira HoweidyCoinciding with Tuesday's run-offs, the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) issued its fourth report on parliamentary elections, focusing this time on the first round of the third stage which was held on 8 November. The eight-page report was highly critical of the way the electoral process had been conducted and took issue particularly with the trend of "not implementing court rulings."
It is true, argued the EOHR report, that the last elections of 1995 featured 95 lawsuits contesting the results; but none of them questioned "the nationality of the candidate" or demanded copies of the voters' lists, as was the case this time. The stream of lawsuits has continued, it said, despite the fact that the constitution clearly states that the State Council's rulings should be implemented. These violations, the EOHR report stated, occurred in the constituencies of Al-Raml (Alexandria), Helwan (southern Cairo), Belqas (Delta), Helioplis and Nasr City, El-Sharabeya and El-Zawya El-Hamra ( Cairo). The Administrative court handed down rulings related to these constituencies but the Ministry of Interior completely ignored them and still went ahead with the poll.
In the case of Al-Raml, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood candidate Jihan El-Halafawi won a court order cancelling the elections in her constituency because all her proxies were arrested along with her husband. The elections were staged anyway. But when El-Halafawi and another Brotherhood candidate won the highest number of votes and prepared themselves for the run-offs, the Interior Minister suddenly cancelled the elections on the grounds that "there is a court order and it has to be respected."
Another violation monitored by the EOHR was ignoring the court ruling issued against Mosbah Abdel-Rahman Motawei, which annulled his victory as the representative of Belqas constituency because he holds an American passport.
The report also took issue with the "pattern of preventing voters from casting their ballots". It listed in detail such practices in the Maadi and Basatin constituency, where only buses packed with NDP supporters were permitted to reach the polling stations. Similarly, police would not allow voters inside several polling stations in Shubra El-Kheima constituency, "forcing the judges to go out and get the voters from outside."
More harassment was reported in El-Manyal, Kerdasa (Giza), Hawamdeya (Giza), Doqqi, El-Gamaleya and Helwan. The seats of most of these constituencies were contested by Brotherhood candidates.
The most unusual feature of the 2000 elections, especially its third stage, were attacks on journalists covering the poll. The EOHR received numerous complaints from photographers, reporters and correspondents who said that they were subjected to attacks by security forces.
"By attacking representatives of the press and media, police violated the right to obtain information which reflects rather negatively on the democratic experiment of the first elections to be held under full judicial supervision," the report said.
On a more political note, the report found the 15 seats won by the Brotherhood candidates a significant achievement, given that the group had been targeted. It also pointed out that the fact that the Brotherhood operates without a legal umbrella made it more capable than the legal political parties of maneuvering and becoming popular with the masses.
"Brotherhood members are subjected to security clampdown in the form of arrests, detentions and military trials." The clampdowns, suggested the report, won them the sympathy of the people "who voted for them because of that."
"This requires the government to reconsider the group's legal status and integrate it into society like the other political parties," suggested the report.
Related stories:
Capitalising on the clampdown
The demise of politics?
Election or selection
Necessary precautions
Legal nuances
Rough riding in round three
See Elections 2000
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