After the referendum

Nader Habib reports on how a website is attempting to enhance the public's perception of elections

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The referendum on constitutional amendments was held on 26 March. What matters, though, is what comes after the referendum, which is why neutral, non-partisan groups are encouraging the public to become more involved in political life. One such group is Aswatna (Our Votes). Its website, www.aswatna.net, seeks to promote greater political awareness.

Osama Kamel, who attended the UN-approved programme Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections, taught by a Swedish agency, IDEA (International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance)has been involved in Aswatna from the start. The website, he says, which offers information about elections and political life in general, began as a result of the combined efforts of 10 civil society groups.

"When we started working on the website in October 2005, parliamentary elections were approaching. The presidential elections had been held the month before. We listed all polling stations on the website, kept track of the winners and reported on the second round of elections. Then we started to focus on voter registration, which takes place in November and December every year. The People's Assembly elections, which brought 88 Muslim Brotherhood members into parliament, revived public interest in elections so we started providing more information about them."

"But it's not just the big political elections we cover," says Kamel. "We have covered labour union and student elections. We want to send the message that political elections are just the tip of the iceberg."

Visitors to the website engage in discussions on political matters, says Taymur Mohamed, a member of Aswatna's executive committee. Some visitors accuse the website of being pro-Muslim Brotherhood while others say it is pro-government. "This means that we are actually quite neutral," says Mohamed. The website has received 180,000 hits since its started operating in October 2006.

Will Egypt have electronic elections one day?

Kamel thinks that is a long way off given how limited digital culture is in Egypt. And the advantage of manually counting ballots, he says, is that the results can be challenged and, if necessary, recounted. Electronic votes, which leave no paper trail, can be more easily rigged.

The information on the Aswatna website may not be reaching everyone in Egypt but things are changing. The government has promised to form an independent higher committee to supervise elections. Once formed, the committee's mandate will extend beyond simply monitoring elections and could include exploring ways to encourage the public to engage more actively in political life.