At a time when the media supporting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, on Sunday, focused on television footage showing a turnout at electoral committees, the opposition, which called for a boycott of the presidential elections, was publishing what questioned the integrity of the process, which they said was decided in advance.
While the Director of the Executive Branch of the National Elections Authority, Ahmed Bandari, said in a press conference: “We thank the citizens and voters for the positive and notable interaction,” noting that ballot papers had ended in some places. “This is something that impressed us and was not expected to happen by the middle of the first day of the process.” “electoral.”
A large turnout of Egyptians to vote in #Presidential_elections_2024 From the first hours of the opening of electoral commissions for the first days #Presidential_elections#Egyptian_presidential_elections#Road_to_Federalism2024#Egypt_elects_its_president pic.twitter.com/EyIZWBuX2M
— ON (@ONTVEgy) December 10, 2023
He added, “The Operations Room received several complaints due to the slowness and high attendance at committees at the level of the governorates of the Republic,” according to what Al-Shorouk newspaper reported.
Polling stations in Egypt opened their doors on Sunday morning, for presidential elections taking place over 3 days, the results of which appear to be settled in terms of Sisi (69 years old) winning a third term, against three candidates who are not widely known to the public.
At 14:30 GMT, “5 million” voters had already cast their votes, out of 67 million Egyptians who have the right to vote, according to the Supreme Elections Commission.
The independent newspaper Mada Masr quoted a judicial source as saying that the number of electoral districts and the number of judges participating in supervising the current elections have been reduced, compared to previous elections, despite the increase in the number of voters from 54 million in 2014 to more than 67 million, which creates a scene of crowding. “Not real sometimes.”
It also quoted a judicial source supervising voting in a school in a densely populated random residential area, that the peak of crowding was when voting began, between nine and eleven in the morning, after which the numbers gradually decreased, according to the newspaper.
This electoral bribery was also mentioned by voters Mada Masr spoke to in front of electoral committees in different areas of Cairo.
One of them is a voter in front of Al-Barqouqi School in Manshiyet Nasser. She and seven of her sisters, aunt, and mother received 200 pounds each from the contractor in front of the school after they finished voting at one o’clock… pic.twitter.com/sfmKxlMNAB
— Mada Masr Mada Masr (@MadaMasr) December 10, 2023
These elections do not arouse enthusiasm among Egyptians after the war between Israel and Hamas in the neighboring Gaza Strip cast a shadow over the electoral campaign that began in November.
Evening television programs on local channels close to Sisi are now trying to link the elections with the war in Gaza.
Journalist Fathi Abu Hatab published on His account On the X platform, what he said was a list determined by the state-owned United Media Services Company, “was distributed yesterday, including the names of guests allowed to appear on the company’s television channels to comment on the presidential elections.”
The “Sahih Misr” account stated that the company issued “a bulletin regarding prohibitions during coverage of the elections, which included prohibiting filming or broadcasting any violations in the course of the elections, or showing voters’ reluctance to participate, in clear and explicit violation of the Law on the Exercise of Political Rights.”
“The United Nations’ list of prohibitions included prohibiting the broadcast of any material showing forms of mobilization or mobilization of citizens to go to vote. Preventing filming or broadcasting any footage of distributing food to citizens before or after voting, or any footage of buses transporting citizens to polling places.”
The prohibitions also included “preventing the broadcast of any materials that show the reluctance of citizens to participate in voting and the emptiness inside the committees, or any materials that show the issuance of instructions to citizens and directing them to vote for a specific candidate, or any propaganda for candidates inside the committees, or any image that expresses the problems of good organization,” according to “ Sahih Misr, who considered that “the United Media Services Company is participating in a systematic blackout of citizens during the course of the electoral process,” noting that it is owned by Eagle Capital for Financial Investments, which is owned by one of the Egyptian state’s security services.
🔴 The state-owned United Media Services Company issued a bulletin regarding “prohibitions” during coverage #Egyptian_presidential_electionsAnd sent it to the departments of television channels and their websites.
⚠️ Sahih Misr obtained a copy of that list, which includes prohibiting filming or broadcasting any violations occurring… pic.twitter.com/6jTmihmyZl
– Sahih Egypt (@SaheehMasr) December 10, 2023
On Sunday, the Supreme Council for Media Regulation announced that it would conduct an immediate investigation into those responsible for the “Sahih Misr” website and refer them to the Public Prosecutor, “after receiving complaints about spreading false news and spreading discord among the masses of voters, with the intention of distorting the image of the elections being held in accordance with the highest media standards at the international level.” .
Supreme Media
An urgent investigation with the “Sahih Misr” website
And inform the Attorney General pic.twitter.com/waNI3NjdtC– Supreme Council for Media Regulation (@scmediaeg) December 10, 2023
Activists circulated videos on social media, the authenticity of which the Al-Hurra website could not verify, saying they showed crowding and mobilization of voters through intimidation by security personnel in civilian clothing.
Security in #Egypt He stops microbuses on the road and forces citizens to get out to cast their votes #Presidential election !!
The whole world knows that #The election in #Fake Why are the security authorities keen on this play? Why should she embarrass herself and harm the country’s image more than it is bad?
It is better to announce the victory of the president… pic.twitter.com/1t35Y5qL7y— Mourad Aly Dr. Murad Ali (@mouradaly) December 10, 2023
The independent newspaper Mada Masr said that many of the voters who lined up in front of the polling stations before the start of voting on the first day of the presidential elections in Egypt, most of them women and the elderly, were transported free of charge by microbuses, buses, and “tuk-tuks” from their homes, their workplaces, and from institutes and colleges.
Two members of the opposition tried to run in the elections, to no avail. One of them, liberal publisher Hisham Qasim, is currently in prison. As for the other, former opposition MP Ahmed Al-Tantawi, his trial began on charges of “circulating papers related to the elections without the permission of the authorities.”
Political activist and journalist Khaled Daoud said that the elections come “in light of a stifling atmosphere, suppression of freedoms, complete control (by the authorities) of the official and private media, and the security services’ insistence on preventing the opposition from working in the street.”
He added, “We are not under any illusion that the elections are taking place in ideal conditions or meet the guarantees that we demanded in order for them to be credible and fair.”
However, he confirmed that he would participate in the elections and cast his vote for Farid Zahran “to send a clear and frank message to the current regime: We aspire to change and adhere to it. After ten years of running the country, we have become in an extremely difficult situation, the living conditions of Egyptians have deteriorated, and we face the risk of bankruptcy due to the policies of the current regime.” According to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.
But the director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Hossam Bahgat, wrote in a tweet on the “X” platform, “If you believe that your participation in the elections will increase invalid votes or the votes of competitors, then you should know that the voting subcommittees this time are prohibited from announcing their results. Neither are embassies.” It is permissible to announce the results of Egyptians abroad’ votes. Only the National Elections Authority will announce the final results. It is not a boycott, but rather contempt.”
If you remember your participation in the elections, you will receive invalid votes or the votes of competitors. You should know:
The voting subcommittees are prohibited from announcing their results this time.
Embassies are not allowed to announce the results of Egyptians voting abroad.
Only the National Elections Authority will announce the final results.
Not a boycott, but contempt.#missing— hossam bahgat Hossam Bahgat (@hossambahgat) December 9, 2023
As for activist Sulafa Magdy, who currently lives in exile, she said that her vote in the elections goes to detainees in Egyptian prisons, because of their political stance.
Vote in today’s election for:
Hasiba Mahsoub – 4 years in pretrial detention
Hoda Abdel Moneim – 5 years in prison and detention
Aisha Al-Shater – 10 years in prison and rotation
Marwa Arafa – 3 years in pretrial detention
Amal Hassan – 3 years of pretrial detention
Hamdi Al-Zaeem – 8 years in pretrial detention and rotation
Moataz Hasabi Al-Nabi – two years in pretrial detention
Alaa…— Solafa Magdy (@solafasallam) December 10, 2023
Al-Sisi, the Minister of Defense and former army commander, came to power after overthrowing former President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. In the 2014 and 2018 elections, Al-Sisi won more than 96% of the votes.
After that, he introduced a constitutional amendment so that his second term became six years instead of four, so that he could run for a third term.
In this context, attention turns to the participation rate, which reached 41.5% in 2018, six points lower than in the previous elections.
#Blinken #Israel #efforts #protect #civilians #Gaza
2023-12-10 20:58:03
