Yesterday the Ministry of Interior detained a number of male and female employees in Qualiubia, in Al Kanater Al Khairia, to guarantee that they would participate in the elections and vote for NDP candidates. There was dissatisfaction among employees as they were banned from going home, even though they said they would vote for the NDP candidates. The male employees accepted the situation quietly while some of the female employees cried and fainted.
ECWR’s operations room monitored the very first hours of Election Day 2010. Many violations were reported in all the Egyptian constituencies, including:
Women’s gathering:
- In Al Minia governorate, at the Primary Education School, there was a huge gathering of women to vote for NDP candidates. They were gathered in cars and microbuses with the 40657, putting the picture of NDP candidate, also “tok tok” (small means of transportation) with number 20648, a taxi with number 41082 carrying 6 women and another “tok tok” with number 577.
- At the Kasr Al Nil voting location, many buses were congregated in front of Al Gazira Club and Al Gazira youth center in order to vote for Hisham Khalil, NDP candidate, for 100 pounds for a vote. In addition, there were 14 buses that were parked beside Al Sayeda Zeinab police station in order to take NDP voters.
- Public transportation for male and female employees of Al Nasagon Al Sharkion company to voting locations in “Belbis” in the 10th of October city.
- Women gathered to vote for NDP candidates, and male and female employees who work at Drinking Water Company in Alexandria gathered to vote for an NDP female candidate.
- Female employees of Manshiet Al Bakry Hospital gathered to vote for NDP candidate at Al Tabary School, committee no. 121- 123, because they were ordered to.
The role of money and bribery:
- In Cairo governorate, in Al Darb Al Ahmar, at Khattab Al Sobky, male and female voters and the delegate of NDP candidate insulted each other, because he agreed to pay them money for after they vote for the NDP candidate. But after they voted for the NDP candidate, he did not give them any money.
- In Al Sayeda Zeinab, in Cairo governorate, at Al Sayeda Zeinab school for commercial education, women gathered to vote for NDP candidate for 20 pounds.
- A vote’s price in the elections in Bab Al Sheiria constituency in Cairo reached 150 pounds, and many candidates of the constituency paid bribes to female voters who waited outside the voting stations.
Filling voting cards & Forging in the committees:
- In a school compound in Menia El Basal constituency in Alexandria, ECWR monitors noted a lack of fingerprint ink and voting cards for voters.
- In Osman Ibn Affan school in Kalaa district, Edfu, Aswan, voting occurred in women’s voting locations for one female candidate more than one time, and female voters were prevented from giving fingerprints, which enable them to vote in other committees.
- 24 ballot boxes were filled with voting cards in the public arena in Faqous district, Sharkia governorate. Reports have been filed against those who filled the cards.
- In Qenayat, the second preparatory school in Zaqaziq, people used voting cards outside the voting stations.
- NDP candidates put up electoral propaganda signboards in Gemeza village, Gharbia governorate at voting locations, which is not allowed.
- In Johayna El Baharia village, Sharkia governorate, the school of El Shaheed Al Husseiny Lotfy was closed; and in constituency 12 in el Zahraa School in Derb Nejm district, there were cases of voting without voting cards.
- In Safoor village, Derb Nejm district, a ballot box disappeared from constituency 187.
- Kafr Abu Hussein El Talleen School in Sharkia governorate has been closed, and delegates of Kafr Saqr constituency who have proxy forms from the Real estate authority and authentication have been prevented from entering the constituency.
4. Intransigence inside constituencies
- Muslim brotherhood female candidates in Kafr el Sheikh complained about voters being prevented from entering the voting stations.
- In constituency 131 in Heliopolis exemplary secondary school for girls, electoral lists were manipulated, which resulted in errors in the names. Names of voters were not existed, therefore the head of the constituency made list of voters whose names were not in the original lists, and they voted with only their identification card.
- Change of places of women voting locations in Alexandria resulted in preventing many female electors from voting.
The spread of security forces, close of committees and ignoring violations:
- In Giza Education administration, El Shaheed Abdel Meneam Reyad School: constituency 17, there were security forces inside the school, in the constituency itself.
- One of female voters in Kasr El Nile committee, Cairo, put her ballot in the wrong ballot box. The head of the constituency then opened the box and brought her ballot paper.
6. Bullying & threats & horrifying female voters:
- In Port Said, women voters were prevented from entering the voting locations and threatened to be arrested if they disobeyed these orders.
- In the agriculture administration committee school in Kafr el Zayat, Gharbia governorate, security forces attacked two female voters of Muslim brotherhood by beating them. A group of women broke into the voting location and beat the 2 female delegates Ramesaa Osama Muhammad & Mai Abdel Azeem, and tore their clothes.
- In Qena governorate, in a trade school for boys, voters were forced to vote for NDP candidates.
- In Souhag, in Bandar Souhag constituency, in front of the a secondary school for boys, there were shots fired and huge sticks, stones, and empty glasses thrown among voters of an NDP candidate and of the independent candidate in the same constituency. This lead to the injury of many female voters. Also many women refused to vote and many monitors ran away.
