During the early hours of Saturday 22nd December 2012, the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights ECWR’s operations room started monitoring the second stage of the referendum that is taking place in 17 governorates from a gender perspective through a team of election monitors. The governorates are “Qena, Beni Suif, Minya, Monufiya, Behira, Damietta, New Valley, Red Sea, Fayoum, Kafr El Shiekh, Giza, Port Saied, Suez, Matrouh, Luxor, Qualiobiya and Ismailia”. It is worth noting that the total number of eligible voters in these governorates makes up 25.495.237 who will be voting in 6724 polling station.
ECWR received several complaints from a number of female voters regarding hindering women’s queues in urban areas where women are more likely to disagree or (say no) to the proposed constitution draft. This hindrance took place when a big number of women (at least 50) occupied the first lines in front of the polling stations, as these women who complained arrived before the polls open at 8:00 AM and were surprised by the long queues which delayed their voting until 11:00 AM.
Additionally, human rights organizations’ monitors access to a number of polls was banned and hindered at the beginning of the day which shows a threat along with the presence of the freedom and justice and Salafists inside and outside the polls which is a (yes, agreeing on the constitution) mobilization indicator in order to make up for the loss during the first stages. And also the freedom and justice members keep on publicizing and impacting the voters’ will.
ECWR observed the following violations:
Late Opening of the Polls:
- Polling station number 8 in Nahdet Misr school in the Motamayez district-6th of October City did not open until 9:20 AM because some of the freedom and Justice members claiming that they are from the human rights committee and they should be monitoring the referendum
- Polling station number 23 in El Shaimaa Experimental School- Shoubra El Kheima opened at 8:45 AM due to the late arrival of the judge along with a dispute between the opponents and proponents of the constitution among the female voters
- A Polling station at Sheikh Zayed Primary school (third district)-Islamilia governorate opened at 9:00 AM
- Polling station number 18 in El Sayeda Khadija school opened at 9:10 AM; therefore, the female voters accumulated due to the slow move of the queue
- A Polling station at El Shiekh Zayed secondary school-6th of October city in El Giza governorate opened at 8:30
- The polling stations of El Nasr Primary school in Kerdasa-Giza governorate opened at 9:00 AM due to the late arrival of the judges and consequently the female voters suffered from over crowdedness in front of the school
- El Nour Islamic school in Ard El Liwaa-Giza governorate opened at 9:20 AM because the judge was not present
Instructing the female Voters:
- Bearded persons were instructing the female voters in front of their polling station in Bahteem secondary school (Shubra El Kheima)-Qualiobiya governorate to agree on the constitution
- Freedom and justice political party’s members are instructing the voters through providing the voters with their polling station number from the computer in front of Taha Hussein school (polling stations number 67, 68 and 69) in Bani Mazar-Minya governorate
- Shafiq Abou Saleh school (polling station number 53)-Behira governorate witnessed instruction of voters to agree on the constitution
- There were signs of agreeing on the constitution in front of the polling station in Shubra vocational secondary school in Shubra El Kheema-Qualiobiya governorate
- There were children and monqaba women holding publications that say (Yes) and cheers saying yes in front of bani Mazar experimental school and inside the school in front of polling station number 56
- On the stairs of the Abna’ El Thawra school (polling station number 52) in Bani Mazar-Minya governorate, publications saying yes to the constitution were being distributed by Monqaba women and nobody interrupted them. Additionally, a bearded man was doing the same thing in the men’s queue of the same polling station, as it is a mixed station
Mobilizing the Female Voters:
- Female voters were mobilized in Minya governorte in a car that carries the plate number 30806 (taxi) Minya in front of Taha Hussein school in Bani Mazar
- Female voters were mobilized in Abnaa’ El Thawra school in Bani Mazar-Minya governorate in a tok tok on behalf of the freedom and Justice.
Logistical Mistakes:
- Bearded men, in front of the Generation 2000 school-6th of October city, banned a reporter from taking pictures where they were organizing the queue claiming that the judge asked them to do so
- The judge in El Zohoor Primary School-El Haram (polling station number 23) refused to show an identification card that verifies that he is a judge while made the female voters file complaints against him
- Very slow entry of female voters to polling station number 23 in Tal El Kalzam school in El Arbaa’een district- Suez governorate
- No use of (finger) ink for female voters in polling station 56 located at Bani Mazar experimental school-Minya governorate
