Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

Human Rights calls for judicial supervision of elections

A statement issued Friday by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights condemned the National Democratic Party’s refusal to respond to the demands by Egyptian political opposition forces who called for integrity during the upcoming parliamentary.

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A statement issued Friday by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights  condemned the National Democratic Party’s refusal to respond to the demands by Egyptian political opposition forces who called for integrity during the upcoming parliamentary The organization had demanded the establishment  of a High Council for Elections where  members of the judiciary would monitor and supervise each of the electoral process’s phase.

The safety measures would include forming the High Council for Elections, comprised of a president and eight appellate court judges, and would expand the duties of the committee to monitor all phases of the electoral process.
 
Hafez Abu Saada President of the EOHR maintained that it was imperative there be civil society representation before each election committee. He suggested both the separation of state organizations from the ruling party and a ban on the use of public funds during the elections.
 
An article in Britain’s newspaper The Guardian by author and rights activists Ahdaf Soueif described the National Democratic Party as “a conduit for corruption," writing that the anger of the people can “defeat our divided rulers."
 
“And we need change: in our parliament, in our government, in our constitution, in our politics and in our economy. But no change will be possible while the current regime, and the NDP which is its instrument, is in power; this is a regime that maintains a stranglehold on the country while it sucks it dry. It has no intention of letting go because to let go would be to die. And so, while the upcoming elections could be the peaceable way to effect change, word is that the elections are already fixed.

In 2005, in the last round of parliamentary elections, the most serious opposition was the Muslim Brotherhood: running as independents, they won 88 of the 150 seats they contested (from a total of 444 elected seats). The NDP learned its lesson: it has used the last five years to develop techniques of taking control of the top posts in the institutions of civil society: from changing the regulation of universities and city councils, to deal-making with small opposition parties against bigger ones, offering immediate services in return for votes, and arbitrarily disallowing candidates for certain boards. It has filled the important posts of the country with acquiescents”

 

Soueif concludes that Opposition is mounting, and our anger can defeat our divided leaders when the time is right, stressing that, that time would be the 2011 presidential elections.
 
According to Soueif, however, former IAEA Chief Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei is not “the charismatic savior” that some hoped he would be.