TRANSPARENCY WITH A SMILE: GOE MEDIA AND ELECTIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 008191

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDED MARKINGS FOR PARA. 4 AND 5)

NSC STAFF FOR POUNDS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/25/2015
TAGS: PREL KDEM EG IS KRAL
SUBJECT: TRANSPARENCY WITH A SMILE: GOE MEDIA AND ELECTIONS


Classified By: HMahoney, 1.4b


1. (C) In an Oct. 24 meeting with the Ambassador,
Information Minister Anas al Fekki did his part to make the
GOE's plans for the November Parliamentary elections look
transparent and fair. The approach may in fact lead to gains
for transparency and freedom, in both politics and the
GOE-dominated broadcast media. Al Fekki's plan gives airtime
to opposition and independent candidates, allows media and
civil society activists to tour the polls, and informs voters
about voting procedures during the Nov. 27-Dec. 7
Parliamentary campaign, To kick it off, the normally media
shy Interior Minister will appear on TV on Oct. 25 to
announce see-through ballot boxes. "And he will smile," al
Fekki said. The liberal look at election time is the first
step in what the Minister describes as a strategy to
privatize large chunks of Egypt's government-controlled TV.
End Summary.

Free Airtime --Even for the MB


2. (C) Following appearances on popular TV talk shows by the
Interior Minister and Al Fekki himself, candidates from the
ruling party and the opposition plus independents will all
have their say on the air. National TV will run daily panel
discussions, in which groups of four or five rival party
leaders will debate each other and be questioned by
journalists on foreign policy, human rights, health care and
other issues. As for the hundreds of independents, they will
have five minutes each on one of the six regional channels
plus follow up time for those who do well in the run-off
vote. This includes Muslim Brothers running as independents,
al Fikki noted, though neither parties nor candidates would
be allowed to run their slogans; the MB's "Islam is the
solution" will not appear on the screen, he said. (Al Fekki
expected the MB to win a million out of 14-15 million votes
and get 40 to 50 Parliamentary seats --a result which the GOE
can live with, according to the Minister.)

Informing the Voters


3. (U) Thanking USAID for the offer to finance
voter-education, Al Fekki stressed that the GOE would accept
informal advice but could not be seen to be following U.S.
directives and would pay for its own information campaign.
The State Information Service (SIS) will run its website and
insert fillers detailing how to vote into Al Ahram, Egypt's
most widely circulated, and government-owned, daily. SIS
will also maintain a media center at the downtown Nile Hilton
where local and foreign journalists and NGOs can obtain lists
of polling stations and other information. The Interior
Ministry will publish voter lists and poll locations, and SIS
will ensure that this information is widely distributed.

Access to the Polls


4. (C) According to Al Fekki, the Justice Minister will soon
announce that local civil society organizations and the media
will receive passes from the SIS enabling them to enter the
polls on election day. (Post is checking the precise
details. Egypt's government-owned Middle East News Agency
(MENA) cited Justice Minister Abuleil as stating that local
civic groups approved by a government-backed human rights
council may monitor every stage up to the vote-count.)

Freer, More Private Airwaves


5. (C) In his long-term campaign to free Egyptian TV from the
government's grip, Al Fekky outlined a plan, which the Prime
Minister wants finalized in six to eight weeks. The Minister
says he intends to privatize selected satellite channels and
allow private and foreign franchising of terrestrial TV,
which is widely watched by Egyptians too poor for a satellite
dish. Pointing to state TV's one billion dollar deficit, the
Minister said he wants to sell the Nilesat thematic channels
that feature drama, culture and education to Egyptian or
foreign interests and allow up to 100 percent private, though
not foreign, ownership of the terrestial TV. New digital
technology will expand the terrestials within 18 months from
the current two channels to six. For the time being however,
news channels would be excepted from privatization.

The private stations and most of the state TV's facilities
would go into the government's Media City on Cairo's
outskirts, which has ample room for new studios and broadcast
facilities. The Minister mentioned that he would welcome a
USAID-financed consultant to design a master plan for the
overhaul of Egypt's airwaves, to include an FCC-like
regulatory body.