At the end of the elections with which Egypt re-elected its People’s Assembly, parliament’s lower house, on November 28th and December 5th, the political stage in the north African republic appears increasingly monopolized by the majority, closed to opposition and distant from the people. And yet, according to official data provided by government sources, participation by the people, voting transparency and pluralism were allegedly respected at all times.
These are two radically different versions of a single reality provided by a disquietingly distorted result. On the basis of the first version, 35% of the 41 million citizens having a right to vote did so and chose, once again after 30 years, to entrust the leadership of the country to the majority National Democratic Party (NDP) led by Hosni Mubarak. Not only that; there was no violence against supporters of the opposition nor any ballot-rigging. According to the second version instead, only a minority of 1 to 1.5% voted and these were loyal supporters of the NDP or state employees taken to polling stations in busses organised by the Ministry of the Interior. Furthermore, at least 16 people were killed in clashes between law enforcement officers and citizens disagreeing with the regime.
Egypt’s most trusted and reliable ally, the United States of America, which subsidises the north African republic to the tune of two billion dollars a year, commented through the words of White House National Security spokesman Mike Hammer, who said, “The United States is disappointed with the conduct during and leading up to Egypt’s November 28 legislative elections. While we are continuing to assess reports from a variety of sources, the numerous reported irregularities at the polls, the lack of international monitors and the many problems encountered by domestic monitors, and the restrictions on the basic freedoms of association.” This is the new People’s Assembly. The NDP has won over 420 seats, secular opposition parties have 13 (Tagammu 5, Wafd 6, Socialist Party 1, Al Ghad 1). There are 70 independent Member of Parliament and it is possible that among them there are other ‘hidden’ NDP members as has happened in the past.
The Muslim Brotherhood did not win a single seat as officially announced by the movement’s leadership and decided not to stand for the second ballot. The movement did this so as not to legitimize a dubious election and probably to loosen the regime’s grip on its supporters. It is estimated that 1,400 members of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested in the days leading up to the elections.
As far as the Assembly for Change, founded by former Director General of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and 2005 Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohammed El Baradei, is concerned, the boycott was radical even for the first ballot. To the total of the 508 members elected, one must also add the ten appointed by the president and among them Mubarak has appointed ten Coptic Christians. One can easily envisage that the presidential elections planned for the second half of 2011 will be ruled by the NDP thanks to a parliament that is even more favourable than the outgoing one, since in the previous assembly there were 88 members of the Muslim Brotherhood elected as independents (the block of 88) and a dozen representing other political movements such as Al Wafd and Al Tagammu. This was an experiment in partial pluralism, restricted in time, that will not easily be repeated.
Translated by Francesca Simmons