What they Say about the Elections
FT: Egypt's flawed poll
Rarely is it clear in an electoral exercise such as the one that took place yesterday in Egypt - an entrenched autocracy dressing up a predetermined outcome with democratic trappings - whether this should be dismissed as a farce or embraced as a modest beginning. Because it can be both.
AP: Charges of Fraud Mar Egyptian Election
Ordinary citizens and opposition party members told The Associated Press that election workers inside polls in Luxor instructed voters to choose Mubarak, who is expected to be easily re-elected to a fifth six-year term. In Alexandria, workers for the ruling National Democratic Party promised food to those who cast a ballot, voters said.
Times: Voters shun a pretend election
It's Mubarak by a mile, as Egyptians pay lip service to democracy in a poll marred by police violence, apathy and intimidation of monitors
Reuters: Egyptians vote amid complaints
Turnout was low as voters chose between Mubarak and his nine rivals, most of them little-known leaders of political parties with few members, monitoring groups said. They reported ballot stuffing, vote buying, intimidation, abuse of government vehicles and discrimination to favor Mubarak.
NYT ...Vote, but the Answer Is Mubarak
...while Egypt has clearly not yet shaken off decades of one-man, one-party rule, the streets were calm, protesters were allowed to block city traffic and voters could cast a ballot for someone other than Hosni Mubarak. ... This election was far from free and fair, based on visits to polling stations around the city. But it was a step forward...
Guardian: Mubarak party out in force in Egypt poll
Hosni Mubarak's party machine put on an overwhelming display of organisational strength yesterday as Egyptians voted in the country's first contested presidential election.
Economist: Tentative steps down the road to democracy
Democracy is not quite what Egyptians have got. Mr Mubarak’s regime, like the “reformist” ruling elites of nearby countries such as Jordan, Bahrain and Morocco, has yet to relinquish real control of the pace and scale of change...
VOA: Egypt's Landmark Election Sometimes Chaotic
Outside a polling station, a group of young women are taking names and phone numbers of people who promise to vote for Mr. Mubarak. According to the leaflets they hand out, it appears that anyone who votes for the president is eligible to win a trip to Mecca, a personal computer, or "other valuable prizes."
Telegraph: Egypt's first 'free' election is marred by fraud claims
Within hours of the polls opening at 8 am, however, the first charges of irregularities were made. Mr Mubarak's main challengers said that at some polling stations voters were casting their ballots without being properly checked and that the ruling National Democratic Party was laying on transport for likely supporters.
AP /WP: If Mubarak Re-Elected, U.S. Wants Changes
If Hosni Mubarak wins re-election as Egypt's president, as is probable, the United States expects him to lift the emergency law in effect during his 24 years in office and to honor other campaign promises, the State Department said Wednesday.
WP: A Rush to the Finish on Eve of Egyptian Elections
On the eve of Egypt's first multi-candidate presidential vote, under a big white tent on a main Cairo street, none other than Gamal Mubarak, President Hosni Mubarak's son, was prodding hundreds of electoral workers from the ruling National Democratic Party to get out the vote.
BBC: Voter apathy marks Egypt poll
Despite the government's campaign on radio and television to urge people to vote, it is understandable why many Egyptians feel at best indifferent or, at worst, sarcastic.
AFP: Opposition claims massive fraud in Egypt poll
Forced voting, paid voters, unmanned polling stations, missing indelible ink and the use of public transport to ferry voters to polling stations were only some of the accusations against Mubarak's National Democratic Party.
Rarely is it clear in an electoral exercise such as the one that took place yesterday in Egypt - an entrenched autocracy dressing up a predetermined outcome with democratic trappings - whether this should be dismissed as a farce or embraced as a modest beginning. Because it can be both.
AP: Charges of Fraud Mar Egyptian Election
Ordinary citizens and opposition party members told The Associated Press that election workers inside polls in Luxor instructed voters to choose Mubarak, who is expected to be easily re-elected to a fifth six-year term. In Alexandria, workers for the ruling National Democratic Party promised food to those who cast a ballot, voters said.
Times: Voters shun a pretend election
It's Mubarak by a mile, as Egyptians pay lip service to democracy in a poll marred by police violence, apathy and intimidation of monitors
Reuters: Egyptians vote amid complaints
Turnout was low as voters chose between Mubarak and his nine rivals, most of them little-known leaders of political parties with few members, monitoring groups said. They reported ballot stuffing, vote buying, intimidation, abuse of government vehicles and discrimination to favor Mubarak.
NYT ...Vote, but the Answer Is Mubarak
...while Egypt has clearly not yet shaken off decades of one-man, one-party rule, the streets were calm, protesters were allowed to block city traffic and voters could cast a ballot for someone other than Hosni Mubarak. ... This election was far from free and fair, based on visits to polling stations around the city. But it was a step forward...
Guardian: Mubarak party out in force in Egypt poll
Hosni Mubarak's party machine put on an overwhelming display of organisational strength yesterday as Egyptians voted in the country's first contested presidential election.
Economist: Tentative steps down the road to democracy
Democracy is not quite what Egyptians have got. Mr Mubarak’s regime, like the “reformist” ruling elites of nearby countries such as Jordan, Bahrain and Morocco, has yet to relinquish real control of the pace and scale of change...
VOA: Egypt's Landmark Election Sometimes Chaotic
Outside a polling station, a group of young women are taking names and phone numbers of people who promise to vote for Mr. Mubarak. According to the leaflets they hand out, it appears that anyone who votes for the president is eligible to win a trip to Mecca, a personal computer, or "other valuable prizes."
Telegraph: Egypt's first 'free' election is marred by fraud claims
Within hours of the polls opening at 8 am, however, the first charges of irregularities were made. Mr Mubarak's main challengers said that at some polling stations voters were casting their ballots without being properly checked and that the ruling National Democratic Party was laying on transport for likely supporters.
AP /WP: If Mubarak Re-Elected, U.S. Wants Changes
If Hosni Mubarak wins re-election as Egypt's president, as is probable, the United States expects him to lift the emergency law in effect during his 24 years in office and to honor other campaign promises, the State Department said Wednesday.
WP: A Rush to the Finish on Eve of Egyptian Elections
On the eve of Egypt's first multi-candidate presidential vote, under a big white tent on a main Cairo street, none other than Gamal Mubarak, President Hosni Mubarak's son, was prodding hundreds of electoral workers from the ruling National Democratic Party to get out the vote.
BBC: Voter apathy marks Egypt poll
Despite the government's campaign on radio and television to urge people to vote, it is understandable why many Egyptians feel at best indifferent or, at worst, sarcastic.
AFP: Opposition claims massive fraud in Egypt poll
Forced voting, paid voters, unmanned polling stations, missing indelible ink and the use of public transport to ferry voters to polling stations were only some of the accusations against Mubarak's National Democratic Party.
posted by ritzy @ 10:11 am
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