Washington–Advocates of international monitoring of Egypt’s upcoming parliamentary and presidential polls do not seek transparency, but rather to “internationalize” Egypt's domestic issues, said Kairm Haggag, head of the media office at the Egyptian embassy in Washington yesterday.
Haggag made the comments at a seminar on elections organized by Voice of America (VOA), which was attended by former US ambassador to Cairo, Edward Walker, AUC professor Saad Eddin Ibrahim, VOA Cairo officer Elizabeth Arrot, as well as several reporters. Haggag told the attendees that the 2005 parliamentary election results negated the belief that international oversight is the only means to flag violations in Egyptian elections, as local civil society groups acted as successful observers that year.
Haggag added that even Egyptian opposition groups have shunned proposals for foreign observers, which proves the idea is not popular in Egypt. He assured the audience that elections will be supervised by civil society organizations and judges in accordance with Egyptian law, and that election coverage will be open to registered foreign reporters.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
