The Ministry of Interior and the High Elections Commission (HEC) have violated elections regulations, a report by the Independent Coalition for Monitoring Elections has charged.
The coalition is comprised of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), The Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement, and Nazrah for Feminist Studies, along with other civil organizations.
The report–the first of which to be issued by the coalition–reveals a number of breaches in candidacy propaganda, decisions adopted by the HEC, and the Interior Ministry's stances towards some candidates.
Both bodies failed to declare the name of nominees in two dailies, widely-read state-run papers, according to the report, which added that Interior Ministry departments in 6th of October, Alexandria, and Daqahlia declined to activate judicial rulings enlisting candidates who had been excluded. The ministry challenged the verdicts before puppet courts, according to the report.
The report alleges candidates from the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), opposition parties, and independent runners exceeded the financial ceiling set for spending on electoral purposes, and used religious slogans, places of worship, and public funds to conduct their campaigns.
The coalition decries the security’s use of excessive force for suppressing demonstrations and stonewalling conferences by opposition powers, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, while paving the way for propaganda campaigns by the ruling party.
CIHRS has expressed willingness to oversee Egypt’s impending parliamentary elections scheduled for 28 November.
