Irregularities mar Egypt polls
2005-09-08 09:51
Cairo - Hundreds of independent Egyptian monitors reported a variety of irregularities during the country's first contested presidential election on Wednesday and pinned the blamed mainly on supporters of incumbent Hosni Mubarak.
In statements obtained on Thursday by AFP, several civil society organisations who monitored the vote listed the different types of abuses that marred the polling.
Herewith a list of abuses compiled from reports by the Arab Centre for Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession, the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, the Independent Committee for Monitoring Elections, Sawasya and the Egyptian Association for the Support of Democratic Development.
- More than 1 000 customs employees voted collectively for Mubarak in the Alexandria governorate. Similar cases were reported elsewhere in the country.
- The judge manning the Sadat school polling station in the southern town of Kaws left his post. Delegates from Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP) stuffed the ballot box with 470 votes for Mubarak.
- NDP delegates threatened to have voters arrested and their social benefits cut if they did not cast their ballot for Mubarak in the southern governorate of Beni Sueif.
- In Al-Buhayra area, public transport was used to ship villagers to polling stations. They were urged to vote for Mubarak.
- In the Mediterranean province of Port Said, NDP officials exercised pressure on voters inside polling stations.
- In Cairo's Sayyeda Sakina school, an electoral official ticked the Mubarak box on the ballot for several illiterate voters.
- In Cairo's Nasr City area, people carrying up-to-date voters cards were denied the right to vote because they did not produce an NDP card.
- Several polling stations across the country were not equipped with curtains and voters had to make their choice under the supervision of NDP delegates.
- Mubarak supporters actively campaigned all day inside and outside polling stations across the country. Pictures of Mubarak were even plastered on the walls inside some polling stations.
- Security forces and intelligence forces were seen inside polling stations where they had not been invited by the judge.
- Civil servants employed by the water authority were promised a free subscription at the administration's club if they voted for Mubarak.
- The indelible ink in which voters were due to dip their finger to prevent double-voting was missing from several polling stations.