Region | Egypt
Egyptians cynical on the eve of local council elections
Hussain Saqr, a government employee, reacted with a cynical smile when asked if he would cast his ballot in Tuesday's local council elections.
- By Ramadan Al Sherbini, Correspondent
- Published: 21:43 April 7, 2008
- The Muslim Brotherhood is Egypt's biggest opposition force that holds a fifth of the seats in the lower house of the parliament.
- The government calls the Brotherhood a banned organisation but allows it to operate within limits. Founded in 1928, it advocates turning Egypt into an Islamic state through the ballot box.
Cairo: Hussain Saqr, a government employee, reacted with a cynical smile when asked if he would cast his ballot in Tuesday's local council elections.
"Elections? Politics? Neither is in my dictionary," said Saqr, a father of four children. "What I am interested in is how to feed my children and to know if there will be an end to these crazy price rises."
Saqr, 49, who earns Egyptian pounds 280 (Dh187.17) from his governmental job, told Gulf News he had to "moonlight" as a taxi driver in order to make both ends meet. Over recent months, Egypt has been hit by a spate of hikes in prices of most basic goods. This country, the Arab world's most populous, has recently seen a surge in protests against low wages.
"I learnt there will be elections on April 8 from the posters and buntings hung in the streets," said Saqr, who added he has no voting card. "Why bother? Will my vote make a difference? I don't think so. Election results are always a forgone conclusion in this country," he added as his taxi screeches to a halt at traffic lights in a busy Cairo street.
Nearly 54,000 candidates, including 52,000 from President Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party, are vying for the 52,000 seats at stake in today's election. The polls were originally scheduled for 2006, but they were postponed for controversial constitutional amendments, which were approved last year.
Under these amendments, independent candidates for presidency need endorsement from 140 members of local councils as well as support of 90 members in both houses of the parliament.
The ruling party swept the 2002 municipal elections, gaining 97 per cent of the seats with 52.1 per cent of them won unopposed.
Observers expect the ruling party, which has been dominating the parliament and local councils for more than a quarter of a century, will make a clean sweep of the upcoming elections.
"The two major players in Egyptian politics are the ruling party and the Muslim Brotherhood," said Ahmad Hassan, a professor of political science. "The secular opposition poses no serious rivalry. In view of the latest clampdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, I believe the ruling party will compete against itself in the coming election," Hassan told Gulf News. "It will come as no surprise if very few turn out at the polls."
Tough stance: Islamists call for boycott
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition force, called on Egyptians yesterday to boycott local council elections due today in protest at the disqualification of most of its candidates.
The group said its members had received more than 3,000 court rulings recognising their right to stand in the elections, and close to 900 court rulings ordering a halt to the ballots when the government failed to comply.
Hussain Mohammad Ebrahim, deputy leader of the Brotherhood's parliamentary block, said: "There are court rulings that invalidate the president's call for elections on April 8 in almost half the constituencies ... we call on our public to boycott these rigged elections, which the judiciary has already ruled should not be held."
"Participating in this farcical theatre would have given it legitimacy," Brotherhood lawmaker Mohammad Al Beltaugi told a news conference to announce the boycott. A statement by Brotherhood head Mohammad Mahdi Akef said: "It has become manifestly clear that the party of corruption and oppression [the ruling National Democratic Party] fears any competition, even if limited."
Facts about Brotherhood
- Reuters
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