News Press release

the 2nd press release: Using the Rotating Ballot to Support the Voting for (Agreeing-Yes)

The Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights ECWR is monitoring the referendum from a gender perspective where ECWR’s monitors monitored high turnout from female votes that exceeded the male voters. Women came out to express their opinion either via instruction or free will.

Many violations were observed inside the polling stations and outside them, especially the women’s polling stations.

Women’s Mobilization:

  • Mousha school for boys , the Agricultural organization and Al Abdeen schools in Assuit witnessed mobilization of male and female voters in buses that carries the plate numbers (5314 g s and 7193 g s y) and all the women in these buses were wearing Niqab

Instructing the Female Voters:

  • Many of the Freedom and Justice political party members in Assuit carried a delegation to monitor the referendum from the National Council for Human Rights and were inside the polling stations instructing the voters to say Yes for the constitution
  • In El Zahraa secondary school for girls in Helwan-Cairo, polling station number 31, a man claimed that he is helping a woman to find her polling station, and when he entered the polling station, he started to instruct the voters to mark their ballots as agreeing on the constitution
  • A number of Monqaba women were instructing the female voters on marking their ballots as agreeing on the constitution, in front of Rostom Primary School and Helwan secondary school in Cairo
  • Instructing the voters in El Saada school (polling station number 17) in El Darb El Ahmar-Cairo, on behalf of people who are affiliated with the Islamic mainstream
  • A freedom and justice party leader had with her the voter lists and was instructing them on saying yes, and in Kafr Abd El Aziz school in El Sharqiya, women from Muslim Brotherhood were instructing the voters to say yes
  • There were posters inviting the voters to agree on the constitution in the street of the college of literature in Mansoura (that has many polling stations). This led to a dispute between the members of the Muslim Brotherhood and the activists.
  • In Haroun El Rasheedy preparatory school in Had yek El Qobba-Cairo, the judge of the polling station number 59 was instructing the voters to say yes.
  • The judge of the polling station number 41 in Omar Ibn El Khattab school was instructing the voters to say yes
  • Women who are affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood in Kafr Abd El Aziz school in Al Sharqiya were instructing the voters to say yes
  • Microphones from the nearby mosques were used in inviting the voters to say yes in Talaat Harb vocational school for girls in Al Sharqiya governorates
  • In Ein Shams school for girls in Zahraa (old Cairo), Muslim brotherhood obtained the voters’ list and were helping the voters find their polling station and in return, therefore voters should mark their ballots as agreeing on the constitution.

Banning female voters from voting

  • In Ibn El Nafith school (polling station number 23) in Madinet Nasr, the person who was in charge of the polling station denied access of the non veiled women to the polling station
  • In the Agricultural School in Girga-Sohag, the female Christian voters were banned from voting on the referendum, when others intervened, they were allowed to enter the polling stations

Group Voting

  • In Sakr Qoreesh school in Nasr City, there was a case of group voting and there was only one judge

Logistical Mistake:

  • The person in charge at the polling station number 17 in El Khansaa’ school in Ein Shams- Cairo closed the polling station’s door and window every 15 minutes with no reasonable excuse.
  • There were non-stamped ballots in Othman Ibn Afaan school in the neighborhood number 55 in 10th of Ramadan, and when the judge was informed, he denied the issue
  • There was no ink in Omar Ibn El Khattab School and the primary religious institute in Dakahliya governorate. Additionally, no one was checking on the monqaba women faces
  • In Iwlad Sakr Center of the Sharqiya governorate, there was no poll workers from the court to assist the judge, so the Muslim Brotherhood called the teachers who belong to the Muslim Brotherhood who came to assist the judge and supervise the referendu,
  • In El Sahwa El Islamiya school in El Maasara, Helwan-Cairo, one of the female voters asked the judge to show he his ID where she realized that he is not a judge, he was an employee (civil servant)
  • In old Sidi Bishr school in Alexandria, the polling station number 72 had no judge and there were 5 poll workers only
  • In Mohamed Naguib school in Ezbet El Nakhl-Cairo, in the polling station number 54, the ballots were not stamped
  • In El Naam preparatory school (polling station number 38) Ein Shams-Cairo, there was no judge and there was only a group of prosecutors

Marking the Ballots:

  • In El Taleemy school-Sharqiya governorate (polling stations number 4 and 21), the ballots were marked by the polling station’s head
  • In El Sanaya’ school in Tama-Sohag, there was a rotating ballot and the ballots were marked as (yes)

Buying the Votes:

  • The religious institute in Gohayna witnessed distribution of money around the school from the Islamists and in return the voters should say yes