The National Election Authority – more on them later – has approved 48 NGO’s, including 4 international bodies, to monitor the election. Why 48, isn’t that a recipe for chaos? Later the Authority upped the bid and said there were 53 local and 9 International.
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/2/43 ... l-election
Only 2 were mentioned initially, both Egyptian, and both of those are under the thumb
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/41 ... l-election
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent ... -elec.aspx
The Authority says the following are its criteria for observers:
“Organizations applying for a permit should be working primarily in the fields of election observation, human rights or support for democracy, in addition to enjoying a good reputation of integrity and objectivity. Former experience with observing elections is a must.” https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/2/40 ... ntial-poll
The two Egyptians mentioned have no experience of observing elections. As that is mandatory they should be now excluded. The National Council on Human Rights does nothing, stays quiet and is headed by a former Mubarak Information Minister who must be over 80 years. It is part of the state, appointments are made by the state, therefore it is not independent.
In a previous post I’d slagged the National Council for Women and got some negative reactions. Here is another go. The head of the NCV wants to expel a member because she is a member of the Nasserist Party. That is against the constitution but she doesn't care. She ignores the heap of other members who are members of or office holders in political parties. The reason those other parties are pro-Sisi. She is also clouding the whole argument by saying her women should not be politically active. Should they just stay at home?.At this point she falls over herself and says she wants women in politics...but. This organization is part of the state and is not independent.https://marsad-egypt.info/en/2017/09/13 ... ife-egypt/
Of course there are experts that are revered the world over for relevant skills and huge experience as well as integrity. Sounds The famous Carter Centre – they used to be in Egypt but gave up in 2014 and went home saying:
"The current environment in Egypt is not conducive to genuine democratic elections and civic participation," said former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. "I hope that Egyptian authorities will reverse recent steps that limit the rights of association and assembly and restrict operations of Egyptian civil society groups." https://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/egypt-101514.html
The international NGO’s are a dirty and sad lot. The Electoral Authority has approved the following
The Swedish Centre for Human Rights. I can find no evidence that any organization by that name exists.
They also mentioned the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace. This is an elusive minnow with no web site, no objectives and based in Malta. It has no experience in monitoring elections but considerable skills in putting out press releases about nothing. It seems to do nothing.
The Volunteers Association Without Borders doesn’t exist. Volunteers Without Borders exists but its web site doesn’t mention anything to do with the Egypt election. Even if it participated it has no relevant skills or experience. Given their philosophy they would run from this election.
The Ecumenical Alliance for Human Rights and development seems to be mainly a Copt Organization (very unclear as its control/board membership) involved in vocational training. Its elusive about its actual address but its site says its head office is Cairo. Therefore its not international and has absolutely no experience, skills or education in elections. Someone should help them with spelling on their web site. If their attention to detail is so poor there imagine them counting votes.
The Assyrian Monitor for Human Rights is a microscopic organization with no web site, no stated objectives and it very infrequently/hardly at all complains to Bagdad about discrimination. Whether it employs anyone is doubtful. Its knowledge of elections and election procedures is likely zero. Given the discrimination against so-called Assyrians in Iraq its deplorable performance in its specialist area is sad. If I was an Assyrian in Iraq I’d be talking about the death penalty for these people.
The Global Network for Rights and Development is a case study in sleaze, corruption and charm. Its built on the office accommodation of a foul money laundering, criminal Gulf connected human rights thing called GERD. Most of its staff worked for them including the now Chief Executive. People give them money and respect – I’m feeling sick. They have no relevant experience for the region or for elections but they did monitor the 2014 election. If you wanted to offer people money to do the impossible these are your kind. Given their history there is a chance they will end up in jail. http://al-bab.com/blog/2017/07/new-righ ... ashes-gnrd
I think GERD, the one the police closed down, had a connected Egyptian female economist/politician on its board when I looked at it a few years ago.
The Electoral Authority approved this awful lot. Some do nothing, some are sad and pathetic and one is foul. Is it unreasonable to say that the Authority should be judged by its public decisions. Is it reasonable to assume that their (secret) electoral decisions will be no better.
There are also political observers. Why politicians. Would the UK invite the head of some EU entity to observe its elections. Would the Speaker of the UK Parliament observe the US elections.
The observers are a side carnival because all the fixing has been done – 5 contenders frightened off – the media entirely one way – state money used to win votes and do publicity and presumably the electoral roll fixed. In any case what skills do African observer/politicians have in elections – except maybe stuffing the ballot box.
One group of observers will come from the Arab Parliament. They hardly sit, have no power and are not elected. At the moment they don’t even have a home. Pathetic.
Even Senator John Mc Cain (who unlike Egyptian Generals fought a war and was a brave man in inhuman imprisonment and torture) is getting stroppy:
“over the past few years, we have witnessed Egypt lurch dangerously backwards. President Sisi’s unprecedented crackdown on political activism and fundamental human rights has led to the imprisonment of tens of thousands of dissidents, including 19 American citizens and nearly 3,500 young people. ,,,prosecuted and harshly sentenced for peacefully working on behalf of democratic reform…. inhumane conditions in Egyptian prisons, where abuse and torture are rampant. Government censorship of the media and a draconian law governing NGOs have suffocated the country’s once promising civil society….sham trials that lacked basic norms of due process.
All candidates for public office should have equal opportunity, including access to media and public space for campaigning. Instead, a growing number of presidential candidates have been arrested and forced to withdraw, citing a repressive climate and fear of further retribution. Without genuine competition, it is difficult to see how these elections could be free or fair. https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/in ... n-in-egypt
The Electoral Authority is an elusive creature with 10 (all male) members and headed by a judge on which I can find no information. Why would you appoint a judge: you need someone skilled in large scale management, systems and electoral process.
Here is a photo of the Commission – 10 members – so much work. They are all male, all judges and in good suits presenting to an audience similarly dressed with possibly 2/3 women in the audience.
They should call themselves the Supreme Electors a certain meaning of which is probably true.
Two Presidential Decrees of late last year appointed all the top dogs to the Electoral thingamajig – Nos 503 and 553. So the President has appointed at the last moment the people who will elect him. http://www.ifes.org/sites/default/files ... _final.pdf
New legislation last year on court appointments means the President now has new and unfettered power to appoint judges well beyond the powers of all other elected heads of government in the West and even in India and similar places. Therefore the pool for the Electoral Authority is fully 'controlled'.
In typical Egyptian fashion the chief administrator manages up and not down and his stated functions include everything except actually running an election. I hope they give him permission to go to the toilet.
At the polling booth the ‘family’ manages everything. There are no people with management or electoral skills but its ‘presided over’ by a local judge – wonder whether his Supreme Honourness is there for the full 12 hours. They control the civil servants who presumably do the actual counting. Who hired those civil servants isn’t clear nor whether the local judge is responsible to the chief administrator in Cairo. Organizational design, clear objectives and accountability were never an Egyptian strength.
Management skills are an issue because there are over 14,000 polling stations (the authority running the election has no exact figure). That’s 4300 votes per booth which is a lot less than most other places so I think whoever planned it didn’t have much of a brain. They don’t disclose whether they have absentee voting, postal voting or whether a person must vote within a certain geographical area or how the identity/right to vote can be done at 14,000 locations – maybe they are all connected to a computer – I doubt it.
Something for President Sisi to watch out for. This is prohibited by law:
“spending public funds for..electoral campaigning purposes” “ use of public facilities…for electoral campaigning purposes”
http://www.ifes.org/sites/default/files ... _final.pdf This organization is naive and therefore fatuitous.
Another problem. Public meetings and demonstrations are illegal with a 6 year jail term yet many have been held supporting Sisi’s candidature. Someone needs to arrest and jail them now. http://www.egyptindependent.com/parliam ... -2nd-term/
By the Bye I missed one candidate for the Presidency who has now disappeared into jail for 6 years.
Ahmed Konsowa, a military Colonel, who announced his plans to run for President of Egypt in the 2018 election, was sentenced by a military tribunal (secret, no right to legal representation, public cannot attend, transcripts are secret and no right to appeal) to six years in prison on December 19, 2017. He was charged with violating military regulations and expressing political opinions.
In a video statement (?) he said, “I am Colonel Ahmed Konswa, an architect officer in the Egyptian armed forces would like to confirm that the story of justice and freedom is impossible to be ended on the Egyptian soil,” he said. “I proudly declare that I have decided to unlock the current political deadlock by running for the anticipated Egyptian presidential election according to its terms and conditions as defined by the Egyptian constitution and relevant laws,” he added.
He criticized the country’s education, health and economic policies.
Egypt “cannot wait anymore to join the developed world and to abide by human rights standards and global values of citizenship and transparency, as well as the rule of law,” he said.( accessed by 30.01.2018)
After the verdict was announced, Konsowa asserted that he had resigned from the Egyptian army in March 2014 but his resignation was never processed despite appealing to court several times. (http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt ... 1011962231.
On a happy note. Street vendors in Giza in November were selling a ‘doll’ to resemble Sisi with either enlarged testicles or worse! The Security Police (not the normal police) have it under control. Maybe jail sentences because in 2015 a kid was sentenced to 3 years jail for posting on Facebook (they do monitor Facebook) a micky mouse doll with Sisi’s face. He should be out of jail by now. https://marsad-egypt.info/en/2017/11/09 ... -clackers/
