Cairo: In Egypt's parliamentary elections late last year, Wael, a construction worker, admitted to having voted for the parliament hopeful in return for 50 Egyptian pounds (Dh33 dirhams).
But in the upcoming elections, Egypt's first since a popular uprising unseated long-standing president Hosni Mubarak in February, Wael, a father of four, insists on hiking up the price to 100 pounds. "Life has become very expensive," he said.
"Besides, since the [anti-Mubarak] revolution, I have not got much work because the construction sector has almost stopped," added Wael, who declined to give his full name for fear of legal punishment. Wael, who lives with his family in a slum area on the outskirts of Cairo, says he and millions of Egyptians like him are not interested in politics.
Living conditions
"Our main concern is how to feed our children and live with dignity. So far, there is no good sign this will happen despite all this talk by politicians that everything in Egypt will be fine."
Egyptians are due to go to polls later this month to elect a new parliament. An electoral commission, tasked with preparing for the three-round vote beginning on November 28, has warned contenders of disqualification if they offered money for votes.
However, observers say this ban will be hard to enforce in a country where around 40 per cent of its 80 million population are living below the poverty line. Vote buying, technically prohibited in Egyptian law, has long been an affliction of Egypt's elections, mainly those for the parliament.
"Instead of paying cash, some candidates prefer to distribute bags full of food supplies in poor areas," said Um Hamada, a mother of three.
"This deed gives a good impression about the candidate and earns them votes of the poor," she argued.
Um Hamada, who lives in eastern Cairo, said that these bags were usually distributed by candidates belonging to Mubarak's now-disbanded National Democratic Party.
