Modern Sinbad: Alexandria votes amid accusations of violations and misinformation

Egyptians crowed around to check their registration ID cards prior to casting their vote at a school campus in the Al-Seuoff district, Alexandria. (AFP Photo/Khaled Desouki)

By Heba Fahmy/Daily News Egypt

November 28, 2010, 6:27 pm

ALEXANDRIA: Egypt’s much anticipated People’s Assembly (PA) elections kicked off Sunday amid accusations from opposition groups about violations in Alexandria.

Many independent and Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated candidates said that none of their representatives were allowed inside the polling stations, despite the fact that they had notarized permits.

“I was talking to the chairmen of the polling stations [to allow my representatives in], but a police officer barged in and shouted at them, saying that he was in charge of everything and [that] they had no say in the matter,” Adel Abdel Kerim, independent candidate for Al-Raml district in Alexandria, told Daily News Egypt.

“I went into Polling Station No. 25 early in the morning and I found the ballot box filled up with ballots [even though] the voting hadn’t even started,” Abdel Kerim added.

Aly Badr, a representative of independent Al-Raml district candidate Rabi Abdel Qader, told Daily News Egypt that he was also prevented from entering the polling station despite possessing a notarized permit.

“They prevented me from entering at 7 am,” Ashraf Ibrahim, a teacher and representative of Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated independent candidate Sobhy Saleh, told Daily News Egypt. “After an hour and a half I entered the polling station as a voter without showing them my permit to represent [Saleh].

“After voting, I showed the chairman of the polling station my permit as a representative, but he said there were already 10 representatives inside and that I was late,” Ibrahim added.

Ibrahim stated that all the representatives inside the polling station were either representing NDP candidates or independent candidates — no Muslim Brotherhood representatives were present.

Boushra Al-Samni, a Brotherhood candidate for a women’s quota seat in Alexandria, told Daily News Egypt, “I saw people distributing flyers for [Minister of Local Development and Alexandria governorate NDP candidate Abdel Salam] Al-Mahgoub, although that’s against the electoral law.”

According to the Supreme Electoral Commission (SEC), candidates’ campaigning was to start on the day the final list of candidates was announced (Nov. 14) and end one day before Election Day (Nov. 27).

However, flyers supporting Brotherhood candidates like Al-Samni were also being distributed in front of the polling stations in Al-Raml district.

Al-Samni added that state security barged into a polling station in Koom El Dikka in Al-Raml district and put 50 ballots in the ballot boxes without any resistance from the chairmen of the polling station or from security forces.

Saleh, who is running for the professionals’ seat in Al-Raml district, accused the National Democratic Party (NDP) of distributing flyers that stated that the Brotherhood had withdrawn from the elections in Al-Raml district due to the violations the government made against the banned group.

“We announce our withdrawal from the elections to see how things will be without the Brotherhood in Egypt,” the statement read.

“I’m trying to tour all the polling stations in the constituency to prove to the people that I didn’t withdraw from the elections,” Saleh said. “I don’t have any representatives in the whole constituency.

“And they call this free and fair elections,” Saleh added. “The people’s free will is being violated.”

Saleh also accused the NDP of rallying people from far away districts to vote for the NDP candidates in Al-Raml district illegally.

Saleh and his supporters also stated that they were attacked “with swords by “NDP thugs” in front of the Abys Mosque in Al-Raml. Saleh was rushed to Abys Hospital for protection, although he hadn’t incurred any serious injuries.

Both Saleh and his supporters were released from the hospital later in the afternoon.

The media was also prevented from entering polling stations, as per orders made by various chairmen of Al-Raml district’s polling stations.

However, when Al-Mahgoub arrived at the polling stations at Ibn Sina School and Abys, the media was allowed inside to provide coverage of his arrival.

Al-Mahgoub denied there being any violations in the polling stations, and said that the elections were fair and transparent. He also stated that that there were representatives for the opposition parties inside the polling stations.

“I know [the opposition parties’ representatives are] here, I shook hands with all of them,” Al-Mahgoub told Daily News Egypt.

Al-Mahgoub added that the NDP achieved many things in the past five years.

“We’ve [improved] a lot of things, including education, health, infrastructure … we spent about $400 million on education [alone],” Mahgoub told Daily News Egypt. “We need democracy and we are working for it.”

“I’m voting for me and my children, because it’s a benefit for us and our country,” Ibrahim Ismail Hafez, a former copper company employee, told Daily News Egypt.

“[For] the last five years, the Brotherhood … represented the district [in the People’s Assembly]. During [the period in which the Brotherhood represented the area, they didn’t do] anything for anyone.

“I went to [Mahgoub] many times in his office, and he was very helpful,” Hafez added.

“I want to have a voice in Egypt and [to] prove that I exist,” Mary Moussa, a Social Services college graduate, told Daily News Egypt. “I’m voting for Mahgoub because he has done a lot of good things [for the people].”

“There were no problems at all, and there was no rigging in the elections,” Tarek Gheneimy, a marble worker, told Daily News Egypt. “Mahgoub doesn’t need to rig the elections. He’s the one who established Alexandria.”

Mahgoub is the former governor of Alexandria and was popular during his term there.

“Everybody loves Mahgoub, whether they care about politics or not,” Gheneimy added.

Another voter disagreed. “The best people in the political arena are the Muslim Brotherhood,” teacher Gomaa El Zoheir told Daily News Egypt. “They have done so much for the people of Egypt.

“In Al-Raml district there are NDP thugs preventing Brotherhood voters from getting to the polling stations, and all these microbuses are voters rallied by the NDP,” El Zoheir added.

“Inside Al Soyouf Youth Center, the NDP is giving the people electoral cards … NDP flyers, and [are providing] them with microbuses to take them to the polling stations in return for money,” Brotherhood supporter Montasser Solieman told Daily News Egypt.