Egypt Independent: Top stories

Elections Commission: Mubarak has the right to vote

Al-Masry Al-Youm — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:13:00 +0000

Secretary General of the Presidential Elections Commission Hatem Bagato said Tuesday that ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his son, Gamal, have the right to vote in the presidential election.

Bagato, speaking to Al-Masry Al-Youm, said that the commission has not yet received a request from them to take part in the election. He confirmed that the commission is still studying requests from detainees to vote.

Sources at the Interior Ministry’s Prison Department said that there are between 7,000 and 10,000 inmates detained in 42 prisons pending investigations that have the right to cast their votes in the presidential election on Wednesday and Thursday, provided that they apply for it.

The sources added that former President Mubarak, who is detained in a medical center, and 44 former regime officials, held in five different prisons, have all not applied to vote. The law allows detainees to vote as long as they have not been convicted.

The sources said it is impossible for thousands of detainees to vote because voting requires polling stations, civil workers and judges to supervise the elections, particularly as prisoners number over 3,000 in different prisons in Cairo and 1,000 in Tora Prison.

The sources said that the law gives detainees against whom no final judgment has been issued the right to vote by submitting a request to the prison administration, who will write a report about his or her legal situation and alert the Presidential Elections Commission.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Government, political forces and activists prepare to observe presidential election

Al-Masry Al-Youm — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:35:00 +0000

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Fayza Abouelnaga said on Tuesday that the Cabinet is meeting on Wednesday to monitor the presidential election.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Adel Abdel Hamid is forming an operations room for the same purpose. “People can call 19303 about any problem,” he said.

Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri gave government employees one day off during the election that would be held on Wednesday and Thursday. Each institution would alternate the days so that work is not impeded.

Ganzoury called on all citizens to participate in the election as a duty. He also urged them to accept the decision of the majority. “I hope the election would pass peacefully,” he said. “And I call on all political forces to accept the result.”

Political and revolutionary forces, as well as trade unions, all formed operations rooms in various governorates, while the Judges for Egypt Movement assigned 350 judges and 1,500 observers to monitor the process.

Also, 9,457 observers from 53 different human rights organization accredited by the Presidential Elections Commission would be present at the various polling stations, while many other organizations would still do some monitoring though they did not obtain permits.

The Carter Center allowed 22 international observers from 14 countries to observe the campaigning, the voting and the counting, and Jimmy Carter met with Ganzouri on Tuesday to discuss the democratization process in Egypt.

The Muslim Brotherhood is forming 300 operation rooms and 30 committees to monitor violations, and is dispatching 70,000 representatives to the polling stations.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Libyan authorities open fire on Egyptian fishing boat, detain 12 fishermen

Al-Masry Al-Youm — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:22:00 +0000

Libyan authorities opened fire on the Egyptian "Eagle of the East" fishing boat, owned by Farid Farfara of Kafr El-Sheikh governorate. The authorities detained 12 fishermen, four of whom were critically wounded.

Chief fisherman Ahmed Nassar said on Tuesday that the boat sailed from Salloum a week ago, but the motor broke and it was drifted towards Libyan territorial waters. He called on Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi to intervene for the release of the fishermen.

Egyptian fishermen are often detained in the territorial waters of neighboring countries, as they frequently lack proper permits. Egypt’s natural fisheries have been in decline since the late 1990s. According to the General Authority for Fisheries Resources Development, the state agency responsible for managing Egypt’s fisheries, Mediterranean fishermen caught 81,000 tons of fish in 2009, a 10 percent decrease from the previous year.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Prosecutors investigate presidential campaign violations

Al-Masry Al-Youm — Tue, 22 May 2012 17:15:00 +0000

Public prosecutors are conducting investigations into a number of complaints submitted by the Presidential Elections Commission against certain candidates who allegedly violated the rules for campaigning.

Disqualified candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail is accused of insulting the members of the commission and promoting himself at the Asad Ibn al-Furat mosque in violation of the law that prohibits the use of places of worship in campaigning.

The Ministry of Religious Endowments has repeatedly appealed to all presidential candidates not to violate the sanctity of mosques in their campaigning, saying, “Mosques are houses of God and edifices of worship that should not be involved in politics,” according to ministry statements.

Mohamed Morsy is accused of organizing a caucus at Mansoura University, also in violation of the law that prohibits the use of educational institutions in campaigning. Amr Moussa, Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh and Khairat al-Shater are accused of violating the same provision.

The commission said on 14 May it would take legal action against candidates exceeding the LE10 million spending limit it has set for campaigns.

Elections commission head Farouk Sultan said he would not rely on information provided by the candidates regarding what they have spent on campaigns. “A specialized committee will monitor that,” Sultan said.

Safwat al-Alem, head of the specialized committee, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that there are strong indications that candidates have exceeded the LE10 million campaign spending limit. The names of the violators will be announced after the deadline for campaigning passes, Alem added.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Former Hamas minister arrives in Ismailia to cast his vote

Al-Masry Al-Youm — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:39:00 +0000

Mahmoud al-Zahar, the former foreign minister in the Hamas government, has arrived in Ismailia to cast his vote in the Egyptian presidential elections.

The Hamas official, who lost his son in the 2008 Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, has recently obtained the Egyptian citizenship through his Egyptian mother. An estimated 11,000 Palestinian nationals hold Egyptian citizenship and have the right to vote in the elections.

"Now I can, for the first time, exercise my rights as an Egyptian citizen,” he said.

He declined to disclose the polling station he is registered at. “I do not want the media to know,” he said.

Earlier in May, the Saudi satellite channel Al Arabiya that Zahar will travel to Egypt to vote for an Islamist presidential candidate who will best serve the Palestinian cause.

“I will cast my vote in Egypt’s presidential elections, and I think if the opportunity is given to all Palestinian people they will vote for a candidate who is able to best serve the Palestinian cause,” Zahar told Al Arabiya.

“I will vote for an Islamist candidate who has a vision more than simply reforming the current situation, and this not partisanship or fanaticism. The Islamic project is politically and economically comprehensive,” Zahar said. He did not mention which Islamist candidate he plans to vote for. The main Islamist contenders in this month’s Egyptian elections are former Muslim Brother Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh, Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammad Morsy, and Mohamed Selim al-Awa.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

SCAF general says military is securing election as governorates prepare

Al-Masry Al-Youm — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:28:00 +0000

Supreme Council of the Armed Forces member General Mohamed al-Assar said that the armed forces will secure the presidential elections process with more than 150,000 officers and soldiers. He added that 11,000 vehicles, including planes, have been allocated for transporting troops, evacuations and medical emergencies. He also said that the armed forces will transport 480 judges to distant polling stations.

“We were committed during the transitional period to the demands of the 25 January revolution and to holding a presidential election so that power can be transferred to a president elected by free and fair elections,” Assar said in a briefing on Tuesday.

Assar called on the Egyptian people to vote in the elections, reiterating his confidence “in the great Egyptian people, whose revolution astounded the world and who will not hesitate to do their duty.”

Assar said that there are more than 50 million Egyptians registered for the election, and he hopes they will all cast their vote because this is a chance to achieve the demands of the revolution.

Assar added that the military will supervise the elections with complete transparency, and that the results must represent the will of the Egyptian people. He reiterated that the armed forces are impartial toward all candidates and added that the whole world will admire the election’s fairness.

Assar said that armed forces has detailed security plans for the voting process and will provide protection for the 13,000 polling stations nationwide.

The armed forces have tightened measures to secure polling stations in coordination with different security bodies throughout various governorates. The armed forces have also organized patrols for organizing the electoral process, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.

In Ismailia, security forces are securing highways, streets and squares as well as 180 polling stations. Military units were deployed along the Suez Canal, where security measures have been tightened.

The governor of Kafr al-Sheikh said that only the judges are in charge of the presidential election, while the armed forces and police are only securing the process.

Minya’s head of security said that preparations have been finished in coordination with the armed forces. 3,500 police officers have been deployed in the governorate.

In Sharqiya, the head of the primary court and supervisor of the elections, Mohamed Amer, said that 80 percent of the judges monitoring the elections are from inside the governorate.

In Port Said, military patrols were deployed to secure vital locations like the customs department, the Suez Canal Authority, the ferries facility and the customs gates at Port Said port.

A military source warned that the military will respond forcefully to any attempts to foment unrest during the electoral process.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Ganzouri meets with Jimmy Carter ahead of presidential poll

Al-Masry Al-Youm — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:56:00 +0000

Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri met on Tuesday with former US President Jimmy Carter, who heads an NGO that will monitor Egypt’s presidential election set to begin on Wednesday, the first such contest since the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak.

During the meeting, the two discussed the democratic transformation currently taking place in Egypt.

Also in attendance at the meeting were US House of Representatives Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Director and former Member of Congress Jane Harman, Egyptian Petroleum Minister Abdullah Ghorab and Egyptian Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hesham Mohamed Qandil.

Carter, who heads an NGO called the Carter Center, expressed his hope for positive participation by Egyptians in the election.

He pointed out that preparations for the poll and measures taken in the electoral process show that the process is moving in the right direction and that as long as the election is fair, the winner must be accepted no matter his affiliations.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Govt allocates funds to Minya village to curb female genital mutilation

Al-Masry Al-Youm — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:36:00 +0000

Minya Governorate will collaborate with the National Council for Women to allocate LE450,000 to a Minya village to raise awareness about the dangers of female genital mutilation and improve residents’ living conditions, according to the governor.

Governor Serag Eddin al-Ruby said that the money would go toward holding training courses to help change the custom of female genital mutilation.

Ruby made the announcement at a ceremony held by Al-Orman Charity to distribute 40 cattle to families in Minya.

On 19 April, the Child Rescue Line, operated by the National Council for Women, received reports from residents of Abu Aziz village saying that the Freedom and Justice Party sent a medical convoy to the village to perform the practice, also called female circumcision, on girls, which outraged citizens and civil society organizations.

Female genital mutilation is widely practiced in Egypt and Sudan, along with some other African countries. Most Arab and Islamic countries view it as a crime, but some people believe it was approved by the Prophet Mohamed.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Jama'a al-Islamiya: SCAF is rigging election for Shafiq

Al-Masry Al-Youm — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:29:00 +0000

A member of Jamaa Islamiya's consultancy council, Tarek al-Zomor, has claimed that the group had detected “highly-professional methods” being adopted to rig the presidential elections which will kick off on Wednesday.

“Some observers have been replaced with others, and military personnel are being enlisted as voters in violation of the law and the constitution,” Zomor told Al-Masry Al-Youm on Tuesday.

He said Jama’a al-Islamiya predicts that the ruling military council will work hard to deliver the presidency to one of the former regime figures through “unconventional methods that had not been used in the past.”

He said the controversial formation of the Presidential Elections Commission is evidence that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is trying to resuscitate Mubarak's regime. A number of activists had accused judges appointed to the PEC of involvement in earlier forged polls.

“Jama’a al-Islamiya possesses information confirming that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is bent on elevating former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq to the presidency. He is the only one able to protect the military council, given his military background,” Zomor argued.

“The use of public facilities to promote Mubarak regime figures proves that the SCAF is planning unfair elections,” he said.

He revealed that his group intends to form an independent panel with other political parties in case Shafiq or former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa are elected through fraudulent elections.

“Then, we shall stage a new revolution that would not leave behind any of the former regime remnants,” he said.

Edited Translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Court upholds prison verdict for police chief in 2003 torture incident

Al-Masry Al-Youm — Tue, 22 May 2012 14:17:00 +0000

The Court of Cassation upheld an earlier verdict by the Cairo Criminal Court which had sentenced the Maadi police investigations chief to 10 years in prison and six other officers in his department to seven years over charges of torturing a young man to death.

The case goes back to 2003, when investigations chief Lieutenant Colonel Yasser al-Shennawy summoned the victim, Fawzy Saleh Shemeis, to the police station. Shennawy and the other defendants then tortured Shemeis over the course of four days, causing total paralysis and brain damage, which led to his death. Shennawy had been questioning Shemeis about drugs.

Shemeis' family had filed a police complaint over the incident, and prosecutors eventually referred the suspects to court.

Elaborating on the verdict, the court accused the defendants of adopting procedures that violated citizens' fundamental rights and prevented fair and secure investigations from being carried out.

The court added that unless a suspect is caught red-handed, police authorities are not entitled to detain or search him or her without a warrant.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm