Elections old and new

By Naguib Mahfouz

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The Egyptian people are no strangers to elections. They've held them in good times and in times that were bad, and they have known elections that were free and fair and others that were not.

I am not one of those who argue free elections are new to the people. They have experience in these matters and can tell instantly whether elections are free or not.

In the past, of course, it was easy to tell if the vote had been rigged. It never used to be a problem. If the Wafd Party won it meant the elections had been free. If another party won it was a sign that some mischief had been perpetrated.

But even before the results were announced we knew whether the elections had been free or not. In free elections the security forces wouldn't intervene. They would stand to one side and only act to protect people.

Nor is it true that in the countryside farmers found voting an alien concept. I remember well when the fellahin defeated El- Dessouqi Abaza Pasha in his own district, electing a Wafdist candidate in his place, despite the fact that the Pasha was a powerful landowner who owned the land they lived on.

Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.