The joint international local mission issues its second report on the first day of voting

A slight increase in voting rates for Sohag

Notable violations of candidates and monitoring cases of electoral bribes

October 18, 2015 - 4:30 pm

General context

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During the period from 12 noon until 4:30 in the afternoon, October 18, 2015, the joint local international mission continued to monitor the course of the electoral process in seven Egyptian governorates, namely, Alexandria, Beheira, Giza, Fayoum, Beni Suef, Minya, Sohag, through 37 teams of observers. International experts from the International Network for Rights and Development, the International Institute for Peace, Justice and Human Rights, and the Common Market for South and East Africa “COMESA”, in parallel with 700 local observers from Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights, and according to its field observations in various departments, the mission can review the most important features Past hours on next attempts:

First: Access to the polling station and the right to follow-up and security procedures

The insurance procedures are still as they are, and they are good in general, and we did not monitor any influential interference by the security forces in the conduct of the electoral process, but we observed limited altercations between some observers or media professionals and some participants in the insurance forces, most of which ended with the intervention of higher ranks, and their origin is often linked to permits and papers. In contrast, the mission did not monitor any cases of prevention from voting or a noticeable confiscation of the right to follow the electoral process, except in only two cases, the first in the Ahnasia Center in Beni Suef Governorate, where the entry of an international observer of the mission was suspended due to misunderstanding and confusion among some officials. On the authority of the committee who requested a written permit, considering that the follower works within one of the delegations of the embassies, while the observer carries a permit from the Supreme Committee and does not require a written statement, and the misunderstanding was overcome and the matter quickly ended, and the second case was for two local followers of the mission In Minya governorate, as a result of the large number of observers in the same committees.

In a related context, his bomb was discovered in front of the Rifa'a Al-Tahtawi school in Bandar Al-Minya, and security was neutralized, and a security cordon was made, and the area was combed with police dogs and bomb experts to discover other bombs.

Second: Participation

In general, the brand's operations during the preceding hour of the legal rest period assigned to the polling stations (2.30 - 3.30 in the afternoon) witnessed a noticeable increase, but turnout rates generally remained at their levels below average, and the mission conducted a survey of participation rates in some committees between one and the second noon. Today in the afternoon in the governorates of Beheira, Alexandria and Beni Suef as follows, and the most prominent of them are as follows: -

1- Alexandria Governorate: Raml first and second district: Amr Lotfi School, about 420 voters out of 10,000 voters

2- Alexandria Governorate: Raml District 1 and 2: Nassiriya School, around 100 people cast their votes out of a total of 2000 electoral lists

1. Beni Suef Governorate, Naser Center District / Naga Al Arab Primary School / Committee 86: 127 individuals cast their votes on the committee out of the total number of voters in the lists 1540.
2. Beni Suef Governorate, Ihnasia District / Al-Shoubak Elementary School / Committee 76: About 15 individuals voted in the committee out of the total number of voters in the lists, 1600.
3. Beni Suef Governorate, Naser Center District / Al Zaytoun Joint Primary School / Committee 81, about 220 casting votes out of the total number of voters in the lists 1319.

3- Al-Buhaira Governorate / Damanhour District / Al-Azhari Institute / has three committees, of which Committee No. 260 is number 2470

4. Al-Buhaira Governorate / Damanhour District / Al-Radwan School / The number of committees in it is two, the first number 251 the number of votes in it 1667 votes, and those who cast their votes 80 voters, and the second number 252 the number of votes in it 1667 votes and those who cast their votes 110 voters.

As for Sohag, the turnout witnessed a noticeable increase during the past two hours, despite the remarkable calm that prevailed in the voting processes in the two governorates, where tribal factors play an important role in the mobilization processes for voting.

In general, the female turnout is more prominent than the male turnout during the past hours before most of the committees, especially in the governorates of Alexandria and Giza.

Third: Electoral violations

There is a noticeable increase in the electoral irregularities that have been detected by a number of candidates, which were not limited to unlawfully violating propaganda, but sometimes amounted to the distribution of electoral bribes to voters, and among the most prominent features that have been monitored in this regard are the following: -

1- Al-Buhaira Governorate / Damanhour District / Sanayeh Girls School / A government employee near the school distributed 100 pounds to the voters in order to choose the candidate Sameh Shawer.

2- Beheira Governorate / Kafr El Dawar District / Sidi Ghazi School / One of the employees in Committee No. 111 directs the voters within the committee in favor of candidate Ahmed El Hawary

3- Giza Governorate / Al-Agouza constituency: In the Zamalek Sports Club polling station, many representatives of the Free Egyptians Party candidate, Ahmed Mortada Mansour, raised propaganda banners for the candidate and invited the voters to vote for him.

4- Al-Buhaira / Abu Al-Matamir / Gangles Preparatory School for Boys / There are cars circling the district in favor of candidate Hamdi Abdel-Wahab Abu Al-Khayashim and appealing to the voters to elect their candidate

5- Al-Buhaira / Abu Al-Matamir / Al-Noujoumiah School / The presence of members of the Nour Party wearing T-shirts with pictures of their candidates and their electoral symbol

6- Sohag / Akhmim / Local Council / Directing outside the committees for the candidate Walid Abdel Awal

7- Sohag / Al-Manshah / Complex Rawa'if Al-Issawiya Preparatory School / electoral banners for candidate Atef Kaarban inside the school

8- Sohag Governorate / Tahta District / Sahel Tahta Secondary Preparatory Institute Al-Azhari: Candidate Mustafa Suleiman was present in front of the institute's headquarters with a group of his campaign members accompanied by Lap Top and YouTube to go on the Internet, in order to help the voters in identifying the locations and numbers of their electoral committees .

9- Giza Governorate - Al Haram District - Ahmed Bahgat School Committee in Nazlat Al Samman - electoral campaigning for candidate Magdy Al Batran in front of the committee.

10- Giza Governorate - 6th of October District - Sheikh Zayed Secondary School Committee for Girls - Supporters of Candidate Akram Mustafa roaming in front of the committees with six Suzuki vehicles bearing his posters.

11- Fayoum governorate - Tamiya district - secondary school for girls, altercations occurred and they were resolved by the adjacent police station when the committees began opening between the supporters of “Candidate Muhammad Farghali” and “Sheikh Karim Abdel Wahab”.

12- Alexandria Governorate / Dekheila District / Zaid Ibn Haritha Elementary School / Lujan (89-92): Supporters of the Al-Wafd Party candidate, Ali El-Messiri, conducted election propaganda before the committees, despite the security forces warning them more than once.

13- Alexandria Governorate / Al-Amiriya District / Al-Thawra Al-Orabeya School /: The supporters of “Candidate Rizk Ragheb Bait Allah” distributed 50 pounds for the vote, and the Nour Party mobilized and directed, especially for women, to vote for its candidates.

14- Beni Suef Governorate, Beni Suef District / Ahwa Village / A verbal altercation occurred between the judge and the brother of “the candidate, Dr. Al-Mamoun Ali Gabr,” the candidate of the Homat al-Watan Party, which led to the expulsion of the candidate’s brother from the committee.

15- Fayoum Governorate - Abshway Center District - Senro Primary School. A supporter of “Candidate Alaa Al-Omda” photographed the ballot and stood outside the polling stations to influence the will of the voters and urge them to elect him.

 

Fourth: The performance of the authorities supervising the electoral process

The mission's observations during the past hours indicate that the performance of the electoral commissions supervisors was generally good in most cases. However, slight cases of some irregularities or abnormal circumstances related to the supervisors of the electoral process were observed, and the most prominent of these observations may be the following: -

1- Fayoum Governorate - Abshway Center District - Tabhar Preparatory School for Boys, Committee No. 53, the committee’s advisor refused to help an illiterate citizen by casting his vote at 11:30 in the morning.

2- Sohag Governorate / Tahta District / House of Amara: A judge of Committee 7 apologized for the death of his mother, and it was added to Committee No. 8 at the same electoral headquarters.

3- Alexandria Governorate / Mina Al-Basal District / El-Qabbary Primary School, Committee No. 13, when one of the committee’s employees directs the voters to elect the candidate (Ashraf Rashad Othman).

4- Sohag / Al-Manshah / Al-Nour Primary School / Committee No. 12 and 13 / Candidate Faisal Al-Shabani's delegate directs the voters inside the committee before the judge