Egypt still stands a chance of achieving democratic change, despite recent violations in November’s poll, wrote Michael Posner, US assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor.
“Although it has held a series of troubling elections this year, Egypt has an opportunity to fulfill the commitments its government has made to the Egyptian people as it prepares for next year's presidential election, if it takes steps to implement several changes to which it has committed,” Posner wrote in a Washington Post editorial on Saturday.
The Post’s editorial is part of a recent series of articles pressing Egypt for reforms, an agenda of particular interest for one of its editors, Jackson Diehl, experts say.
Posner, whose text was diplomatically phrased, referred to low voter turnout, ongoing dissent and direct government interference in last November's parliamentary polling as reflections of the marred electoral process. This process, according to him, stands in contrast to “a trend in the region of greater electoral transparency,” giving examples of Iraq and Jordan where international and domestic monitors were allowed to observe voting.
“It is the administration's firm view that progress in political and economic reform in Egypt is essential to the country's long-term strength and success as a regional leader as well as to sustaining a strong foundation for our valued strategic partnership,” Posner wrote, referring to both countries’ mutual interest in finding a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and stabilizing Iraq.
Posner added that ending emergency law, in force since 1981, is essential ahead of the 2011 presidential elections. He also said that the High Electoral Commission, which took over the electoral oversight from the judiciary in 2007, should demonstrate its legitimacy by investigating alleged violations in the last elections. He called for a “free and vibrant media that include bloggers and international coverage”, and better party participation.
“It will also be important for Egypt to welcome both international and domestic election monitors and allow them to carry out their work freely throughout the campaign period and on Election Day next September,” he wrote.
The issue of international monitoring was repeatedly raised by the US administration ahead of November’s poll, but denounced by the Egyptian authorities as an interventionist attitude on sovereign matters. These tense declarations led to a media war, in which Egypt’s state-run papers published editorials attacking the US position, most notably al-Ahram's editorial titled “The Devil Preaches”.
A cable revealed by WikiLeaks, sent in February 2009 from US Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey to the US secretary of state, described Egypt as “very often a stubborn and recalcitrant ally”. Scobey wrote that the Egyptian administration feels it is taken for granted by the Americans, its views being ignored while the latter try to force their point of view.
