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1/6/2002
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The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights' (EOHR) first report monitors various forms of violations in nineteen governorates. These violations represent a clear violation of the standards laid down in the law and international human rights instruments on free and fair elections.
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8/9/2005
According to EOHR Secretary General Hafez Abu Seada, these violations include:
1. Absence of separation barriers between voters and the judiciary to ensure the secrecy required by the voting process. This occurred in certain polling stations such as Meet Abu Araby Preparatory School in Zagazig, Shubra el Kheima in Qalyoubiyya, Manshiyyat Nasser, Cairo and other polling stations in Giza. This represents a clear violation of the Presidential Elections Law and standards necessary to ensure free and fair elections.
2. Phosphorous ink was not used by voters in certain polling stations in Cairo and Giza - this represents a violation of one of the guarantees of free and fair elections which requires that individuals do not vote more than once. It violates the legislative provision requiring that voters dip their fingers in phosphorous ink after having cast their vote.
3. Public buses have been used to transport people from villages and towns in the governorate of Buheira to vote for the National Democratic Party candidate. This is what happened in Bakouss Mixed, School, Omar Makram Primary School, Ibn Sinaa School, and Sayouf Primary School in Alexandria. These buses have also been used to transport state employees to vote for the NDP candidate in Damietta. In addition NDP propaganda was displayed inside polling stations such as Badrsheen, Giza. Members of the NDP secretariat also positioned themselves in Bakouss Preparatory School, Ramla, Alexandria in order to force voters to cast their vote in the interests of the NDP candidate. Matters reached the point where NDP candidates threatened voters in villages in Beni Suef that they would be detained and their monthly social benefits cut if they did not vote for the NDP candidate.
4. Candidates from other political parties were attacked. In, Rafah, North Sinai a member of the People's Assembly attacked a Ghad Party representative in the Abu Tawila polling station. There was an intense security presence in polling stations such as Masoura, Rafah, while an NDP candidate directed voters to cast their vote for the NDP candidate in the Matalla polling station in Rafah.
5. Electoral registers were not properly sorted, and the names of certain voters were left off voting lists as happened in Damietta and other polling stations in Giza and Cairo. In Garafass polling station, Senoriss, Fayyoum a NDP candidate changed a vote in the interests of the NDP candidate rather than the candidate chosen by the voter who then placed the vote in the ballot box.
6. As for electoral bribery, in polling station no. 2 in Manshiyyat Nasser, Cairo NDP candidates produced votes for the NDP candidate for women in return for a sum of 50 Egyptian pounds.
Abu Seada added that while EOHR monitors were allowed to enter polling stations in several governorates, they were prevented from doing so in Qena, Giza, Assiut and Ismailiyya as well as certain polling stations in Cairo and Giza.
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