The joint international - local mission to follow up on the parliamentary elections Egypt 2015 concluded today, Friday, the “Informational Consultation Meeting” that I held with a group of newspaper correspondents and foreign news agencies, which was held on the 5th and 6th of March 2015 in Sharm El Sheikh.
The meeting started with an opening session in which Professor / Ayman Aqil, head of Maat Foundation and the local coordinator of the international mission, spoke, where his speech appeared to stand for a minute of silence for the victims of terrorism in Egypt, Libya, France and every region of the world, then with the leaders of the international mission, and the participants in the meeting, and referred to the challenges facing Egypt At the present time, on top of which is violence and terrorism, and its impact on the obligations of the Road Map, and the Egyptian people’s insistence on achieving the goals of their two revolutions on January 25 and June 30, and the completion of the road map despite these challenges.
Then Mr. Abuzer Mohamed, deputy head of the local international joint mission, said that the mission's interest in following up the Egyptian elections stems from its belief in the importance of Egypt as a pivotal country in the region and the world, and that democracy in Egypt must be transmitted to its neighbors in the region, revealing that the mission has been taken A unanimous decision to continue its work in following up the elections, despite the ruling of the Supreme Constitutional Court, according to which the elections were postponed for several weeks.
Then came the speech of the head of the joint international mission to follow up the parliamentary elections, the human rights expert, Dr. Louay Deeb, President of the International Network for Rights and Development, during which he referred to the network’s role in following up the general elections in most continents of the world with the aim of learning and transferring experiences, indicating that the network’s role is not to create an atmosphere. Political elections in different countries, but it is concerned with providing technical and technical support to different countries in order to develop their electoral systems.
Dr. Louay Deeb revealed that the international joint local mission includes international observers belonging to 45 different nationalities spread in all continents of the world, and explained that all of these observers have great experience in the field of evaluating electoral processes, and he also stated that all the staff and experts of the International Network for Rights and Development were We are keen to participate in the follow-up of the Egyptian elections, despite the fact that the network's management announced that participation will be optional and not compulsory.
In his answer to reporters' questions, the head of the joint international mission also indicated that he was surprised by some international organizations that issue “preemptive” judgments about the quality and integrity of the electoral process in Egypt without having followers on the ground, and without following the methodological rules in evaluating the procedures of the electoral process. From its beginning to its end, explaining that this pre-evaluation of the electoral process is a "political evaluation" and not a "impartial and objective human rights assessment."
The second session of the meeting included the opening of a dialogue with the media representatives from correspondents and representatives of newspapers, news agencies and foreign television channels, where the meeting was moderated by the media expert, Mr. Yasser Abdel Aziz, a member of the media coverage follow-up committee formed by the Supreme Elections Committee, and a member of the National Council for Human Rights. Falkhard Windford, “President of the Association of Foreign Correspondents in Cairo,” Mr. Jean-Francois, Director of the International Institute for Peace, Justice and Human Rights in Geneva.
The speakers pointed out the importance of understanding Egyptian society and its various components of culture so that the reporter can convey a correct media message, as well as openness to all factions of society, indicating that the working conditions of foreign correspondents are improving at the present time as long as they abide by the law.
The head of the Foreign Correspondents Association indicated that some foreign media outlets deliberately use incorrect terminology to describe certain situations in Egypt, citing the example of their use of the word “militants” instead of using the correct word describing violent groups, which is “terrorists”.
Discussions during the session also resulted in the need for a close relationship between foreign media on the one hand and civil society organizations on the one hand during the electoral process stages, so that foreign media can convey a correct assessment of this process to global public opinion based on information provided by organizations involved in the daily follow-up of the processes and procedures. The election .
It is worth noting that the “International - Local Joint Mission to Follow Up the Parliamentary Elections Egypt 2015” is a strategic alliance that includes the International Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) in Norway and the International Institute for Peace, Justice and Human Rights IIPJHR in Geneva and their local partner Maat Foundation for Peace, Development and Human Rights, in addition to 31 local organizations