EGYPTIAN JUDGES ALLEGE FRAUD, MISMANAGEMENT OF MAY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 005051 SIPDIS NSC STAFF FOR POUNDS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/03/2015 TAGS: PGOV KDEM EG SUBJECT: EGYPTIAN JUDGES ALLEGE FRAUD, MISMANAGEMENT OF MAY 25 REFERENDUM REF: A. CAIRO 4170 ¶B. CAIRO 4005 ¶C. CAIRO 3424 ¶D. CAIRO 3089 Classified by ECPO Counselor John Desrocher for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: The Egyptian Judges' Club has issued a report detailing irregularities and fraud in the administration of the May 25 referendum on the amendment to Article 76 of the constitution. The report, issued on June 28 and subsequently printed in the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm, contradicts GOE assertions about the extent of judicial supervision, accuses the GOE of grossly overstating turnout, and cites evidence of tampering with ballot boxes. The report recommends several steps the GOE should take to prevent irregularities in the coming elections. The judges' activism has been one of the most significant aspects of Egypt's changing political atmosphere in the first half of ¶2005. The GOE has in the past relied heavily on judicial supervision to confer legitimacy on its electoral process. Many of Egypt's judges are apparently no longer willing to play ball. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) The Egyptian Judges' Club, which acts as a guild or professional association for Egypt's 9,000 judges, has issued a report detailing irregularities and fraud in the administration of the May 25 referendum on the amendment to Article 76 of the constitution to allow for direct competitive presidential elections. As reported refs A and B, the referendum was marred by low voter turnout, extensive procedural violations, and even gratuitous violence against demonstrators advocating a boycott of the poll. ¶3. (SBU) The report was produced by a five-member commission formed by the Judges' Club to monitor the conduct of the referendum. The commission was headed by a vice president of Egypt's respected Court of Cassation and included other members of the Court of Cassation and Supreme Court of Appeals. The commission members assert that they based their findings solely upon claims supported by documentary evidence in the form of videotapes, audiotapes, photographs, and eyewitness testimony. -------------- Spotty Coverage -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The judges' report contradicts GOE claims of "full judicial supervision" of the elections. In fact, the report claims, only five percent of polling stations were supervised by judges. The report notes that, in most cases, one judge and two deputies were assigned to each "main polling station" in a given district. However, the report notes, the main polling stations had as many as 400 "branch polling stations" in their districts, most of which had no judges at all, and were instead manned by low ranking employees of the Ministry of Local Administration. Even in cases where judges were deployed to branch polling stations, the report contends, they encountered staff either ignorant or willfully disrespectful of official rules and guidelines for managing polling stations. -------------- Low Turnouts -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The report states that, in stations actually manned by judges, turnout generally did not exceed 3 percent. They note the irony of reports from stations not manned by judges claiming 90 or even, in some cases, 100 percent turnout. Had 100 percent of voters in a given district turned out to vote, the report states, this would mean that not a single voter in that district had died or moved since the voter lists were prepared. The report further contends that many polling stations not manned by judges closed early, in some cases hours before the polls were supposed to close but nonetheless reported high turnouts. The report quotes some polling station officials, when confronted with these contradictions, as stating, "This is the way we've always done it," or "I'm just a poor man following instructions." Another polling station official told a judge he had been instructed by a senior police official to accept any voter, whether listed on the voters' roll or not, in order to maximize turnout. -------------- Ballot Tampering -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The judges' report also cites photographs and video taken of ballot boxes being opened and obviously "pre-stuffed" with ballots still tied together with string (in bundles that could not have been inserted through the slot). The report also cites testimony of people who witnessed local (non-judicial) polling station supervisors discarding "no votes" as invalid. The report even charges, without naming names, that some judges supervising polling stations collaborated with other GOE officials to rig votes and obstruct the movement and access of other judges whom they suspected would not go along with the fraud. -------------- Recommendations -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The report concludes with several recommendations the GOE should implement in order to prevent fraud during future elections. First, the report suggests reducing the number of polling stations by 75 percent so that judges could realistically supervise them. Second, the report recommends that elections be staggered over several days to ensure that judges can provide full coverage. Third, the report states, the GOE must ensure that each polling station is manned by a judge. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) Though the extent of GOE mismanagement of the May 25 referendum was already in little doubt (refs A and B),the judges' report adds substance to the body of evidence. The judges' activism has been one of the most significant aspects of Egypt's changing political atmosphere in the first half of 2005 (refs C and D). The GOE has, in the past, relied heavily on judicial supervision to confer legitimacy on its electoral process, but many judges are apparently no longer willing to play ball. The GOE, by circulating a de facto "loyalty pledge," along with other inducements, seems to have made progress in forestalling the judges' threat to abstain from their supervisory roles in the coming presidential and parliamentary elections (ref C). However, the GOE still has to contend with an emboldened judiciary, many of whom are no longer willing to turn a blind eye to traditional election-fixing tactics. Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. CORBIN