By Heba Fahmy
CAIRO: Al-Wafd opposition party and the Muslim Brotherhood accused the government of crackdown meant to tilt the election in favor of the ruling National Democratic Party candidates.
“We [Al-Wafd candidates] have been subjected to many violations prior to elections by NDP bullies from Aswan to Alexandria. This includes tearing down the candidates’ banners, delaying the issuance of permits for the candidates’ representatives [that will assist them at the polls], and preventing the candidates from conducting public campaigns and mass press conferences with the people,” said Wafiq Al Ghitani, general coordinator of Al Wafd’s executive committee.
Al-Wafd’s Mohamed Gomaa, who is running against four NDP candidates in the Fayed district, filed a complaint at the police station there against the “NDP bullies” who keep tearing down his banners.
“Despite the police’s cooperation with me, they can’t control the NDP bullies,” Gomaa told Daily News Egypt.
“I lose LE 2,000 everyday because they keep tearing down my banners and posters,” he said.
“I can’t communicate with my voters; Fayed has become monopolized by the NDP campaigns with no trace of the opposition,” he added.
Gomaa said that there were many incidents where he and his supporters were attacked by NDP supporter, who threw rocks at them.
According to Ghitani, at least four Wafd candidates have been omitted from the registration list for the Nov. 28 elections in Alexandria and El Minya governorates with no justification.
Al Wafd candidate in Al Raml district in Alexandria, Haitham Nassar, who is running against NDP candidate Atef Mabrouk, has acquired two court orders stipulating his registration for the coming elections, but the Supreme Electoral Commission (SEC) is yet to implement the court order.
The Administrative Court issued the second verdict on Saturday.
“They have no justifiable reason for eliminating us (Nassar and other independent candidates). They just don’t want us to run (against the NDP),” Nassar told Daily News Egypt.
“Hopefully, they will implement the second court ruling soon,” Nassar added.
In the Abu Kebir district, Sharqia, Al-Wafd candidate Mohamed Kotb withdrew from the elections, guaranteeing a win for NDP candidate and Minister of Social Solidarity Ali Moselhi.
According to the online portal Masrawy.com, Kotb withdrew from the elections because he believed Moselhi would better serve the district.
However, Ghitani denied these claims, stating that Kotb withdrew due to health reasons.
“We would never step down from the elections in favor of an NDP candidate; that’s nonsense,” Ghitaani said.
The media spokesperson of the SEC wasn’t available for comment by press time.
The crackdown on members of the Muslim brotherhood continues to escalate before the elections.
The number of Brotherhood members detained since the group announced its participation in the upcoming general elections on Nov. 28 has reached 1,206, according to a statement issued by the group’s lawyer Abdel-Monem Abdel-Maqsoud.
The statement added that this number includes eight candidates and seven female members from different governorates.
The brother and 13-year-old nephew of MB-affiliated independent candidate Ramadan Omar in Helwan district were detained while hanging posters of the candidate early Sunday morning.
They hadn’t been presented to the prosecution or officially charged with any crimes until press time, according to Omar.
“All my banners have been torn down, the whole district has no trace of Brotherhood candidates, while banners for NDP candidates are left untouched throughout the district,” Omar told Daily News Egypt.
According to Omar, the posters didn’t include any religious slogans, which are banned by the SEC.
“It just included my picture and the slogan ‘Together for Reform’,” he said.
“[Security forces] want to terrorize the Brotherhood supporters and send them a warning that whoever supports the group will be detained,” he added.
Three other members of the Brotherhood’s Administrative office were arrested at their homes in Al Qalyoubia governorate early Sunday morning.
Thirty-eight members of the Brotherhood were detained in Al Raml district in Alexandria on Saturday night, while 13 supporters of MB-affiliated independent candidate and member of the Brotherhood executive bureau Saad Al Hoseiny were detained in Al-Mahalla, Gharbeyya, according to the group’s media office.
Yasser El-Rifaei, the Attorney General of the Alexandria Appeals Prosecution, charged on Sunday 38 Brotherhood members in Alexandria with taking part in illegal gatherings, resisting security forces, destroying public property, marching in the streets without permits, and publicly chanting banned religious slogans.
The official state news agency MENA said eight security personal were injured in clashes with the Brotherhood.
On Friday alone between 100 and 120 Islamists were arrested across Egypt, according to a security official, while the Brotherhood said around 250 people were rounded up during clashes with security forces.
“These arrests show the governments’ impotence and its inability to compete with the Brotherhood, so it resorts to forging (the elections) because it fears the Brotherhood’s impact on the people,” Abdel Maqsoud said in the statement.
In the mean time, the Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement issued a report citing violations and misuse of power on part of the ministers running in the coming PA elections.
There are nine ministers running as NDP candidates in the coming elections.
According to the report, Sayyed Meshaal, Minister of Military Production, used the ministry’s factories as a platform for many of his campaign meetings and used officials in the ministry to help in the campaigning process.
The report also accused Minister of Irrigation Mohamed Nasr El Din of exploiting his position and promising the people of his electoral district in Suhag governorate to implement development projects worth LE 60 million.
“I consider this election bribes, because [Nasr El Din] is using the people’s tax money as leverage to gain the people’s votes,” Ahmed Fawzy, leading member of the Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement, told Daily News Egypt.
“The governors and heads of districts always support and welcome NDP candidates. These are not just NDP candidates; they are ministers, no one can say no to them,” he added.
Fawzy accused the NDP candidates of hypocrisy by criticizing the use of religion in political campaigns and yet “they (NDP candidates) use the churches and mosques to meet with the people and campaign for themselves.”
The report claimed that the NDP, Brotherhood and all other opposition groups have crossed the campaigning budget set by SEC.
SEC had limited each candidate’s campaign to LE 200,000 and an additional LE 100,000 in case of a run-off.
“SEC has no way of monitoring these violations except by depending on governmental institutions and security forces that oppress opposition groups like the Brotherhood and turn a blind eye to the NDP’s violations,” Fawzy said.
SEC has approved 5,181 candidates for the election out of roughly 5,328 who applied. Three hundred and ninety seven women applied for candidature for 64 seats in 32 constituencies, allocated exclusively to women.
The ruling National Democratic Party is fielding about 800 candidates, the liberal Al-Wafd opposition party about 250 and the Muslim Brotherhood 135 candidates for the 508 seats up for election.
