More than 80 percent of Egyptians do not wish to vote in this year’s elections, according to a study by the National Research Center. The study is evaluated by Moahmmed al-Ghaiti in Al-Wafd paper, the media arm of the liberal Wafd Party. Not only are most Egyptians confident that the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) will win, they are also reluctant to participate because they need to obtain a voting card from a police station and are likely to be harassed by security forces when voting for opposition candidates.
Notwithstanding the ruling party's predetermined victory, this year’s elections feature some important challenges to the NDP in a number of districts. Opposition candidates are also continuing to implicate regime officials and party members in campaign transgressions, calling into question the integrity of the electoral process.
State-run Al-Ahram casts some doubt on the NDP’s prospects in Hawamdia district. According to the report, Gamal Korani–a candidate of the “outlawed” Muslim Brotherhood–had won the seat in the 2005 elections, raising questions about whether the NDP will “learn the lesson,“ particularly because Wafd party candidate Abdul Said Abu Yamama is joining the competition this year. Two independents will also compete for the same seat.
The NDP general secretariat is considering eliminating a number of its current representatives in Damietta due to their lack of popularity and absence from their districts during the 2005-2010 parliamentary term, reports privately-owned Al-Dostour. The move is motivated by an attempt to strengthen the NDP’s position against some influential Muslim Brotherhood candidates. Notably, old candidates will be replaced by businessmen who can generously fund charity projects under the NDP’s umbrella. The NDP is also at an “impasse” in Mansheyet Nasser and Gammalia, one of the largest districts in terms of population, according to another report by Al-Dostour.
At the same time, opposition candidates continue to challenge NDP officials and party members over the integrity of the electoral process. Mostafa Bakri–editor of the Obsu newspaper and candidate in the first district of Helwan–called on the president of the supreme electoral commission to implement the law and remove candidates who spend public funds for campaign purposes, reports Al-Dostour. Bakri asserted his competitor Sayyed Mashal, Minister of Military Production, has spent LE40 million of the ministry’s funds to finance his own electoral campaign. Notably, Mashal has been able to rally other ministers behind him, including the Minister of Education, the Minister of Housing, and the Minister of Religious Endowments.
For his part, Muslim Brotherhood candidate for the professionals’ seat in Matariya, Sayyed Gad Allah has filed a lawsuit against Minister of the Interior Habib al-Adli, demanding a certificate proving he is a registered voter in the district, reports privately-owned Al-Shorouk. Gad Allah stated that he failed to obtain the document, despite being registered. He competed for the same seat in the 2000 parliamentary elections, he said, according to Al-Shorouk.
Candidates competing over the professionals seat in Giza accused current NDP representative Mohammed Abu al-Einin of undermining the integrity of elections, reports Al-Dostour. Al-Einin had succeeded in adding a clause in the political rights law that allows citizens to register as voters in any electoral district where they have direct or indirect interests. This has meant that workers in al-Einin’s various factories (approximately 13,000 workers) in Egypt could vote in al-Einin’s district. Notably, there are 5000 residents in the district.
In other news, President Mubarak’s decision to postpone the NDP annual conference–originally scheduled for 9 to 10 November–has raised some questions over the party's calculations particularly because party leaderships previously objected to calls for postponement, according to Al-Shorouk.
In an opinion piece for state-run Rose al-Youssef, Abdallah Kamal argues the decision is fundamentally motivated by an effort to ensure that all parties get equal media coverage. Kamal notes that the NDP annual conference is usually widely covered in the media, and that holding the conference would mean that party would receive disproportionate media attention. Mubarak’s decision thus reflects the NDP’s attempt to apply the standards of fairness “on itself before others.” Kamal also lists a number of logistical justifications including the fact that candidates will have to take time out their campaign period to attend the annual conference and that NDP secretaries in the governorates will need to hold pre-conferences, which will take up additional valuable time.
At the same time, however, Al-Shorouk reports on its front page that a member of the NDP supreme council for policies does not deny the decision reflects a desire to avoid “disagreements and tensions” that could ensue following the announcement of the NDP’s official slate.
“It is not politically smart to hold a party conference two days after the end of the candidacy period and before the conclusion of elections that will produce a new parliament group,” according to a member of the NDP policy secretariat.
Egypt's papers:
Al-Ahram: Daily, state-run, largest distribution in Egypt
Al-Akhbar: Daily, state-run, second to Al-Ahram in institutional size
Al-Gomhorriya: Daily, state-run
Rose al-Youssef: Daily, state-run, close to the National Democratic Party's Policies Secretariat
Al-Dostour: Daily, privately owned
Al-Shorouk: Daily, privately owned
Al-Wafd: Daily, published by the liberal Wafd Party
Al-Arabi: Weekly, published by the Arab Nasserist party
Youm7: Weekly, privately owned
Sawt al-Umma: Weekly, privately owned
