EGYPT PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS - NOV 9 ROUND -

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 008554 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPARTMENT FOR S/ES-O AND NEA/ELA NSC STAFF FOR SINGH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM EG SUBJECT: EGYPT PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS - NOV 9 ROUND - SITREP #2 REF: A. CAIRO 8546 ¶B. CAIRO 8392 ¶C. CAIRO 8274 ¶D. CAIRO 8112 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Voter turnout in the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections picked up as the afternoon began. Most polling stations are the scene of active campaigning by the National Democratic Party (NDP),Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and other independent candidates. Reports from Embassy observers indicate that voting is taking place peacefully in most areas. However there have also been instances of vote-buying, issuance of voter cards on the street, campaign materials inside polling stations and at least one case of physical abuse against monitors. End summary. -------------- Ayman Nour's District -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In Bab Al Sha,ariyya, the district of opposition candidate and former presidential candidate Ayman Nour, poloff visited two large polling stations where the NDP appeared to have the largest share of public support. Emotions were running high among voters and poll workers with some pushing and shoving and disagreements over access to the polling stations. There were allegations that Nour,s Ghad Party is buying votes. Some voters reported to poloff that they were offered money by the Ghad Party but refused to accept it. For its part, the Ghad Party has alleged that the GOE has engineered a heavy handed campaign to intimidate Ayman Nour's supporters in the district. -------------- Intimidation in Giza -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In the Giza countryside, another poloff and election monitors were welcomed politely by police and poll workers in front of polling stations in Al Saff and Tebbeen. Poloff observed an upbeat atmosphere and an independent MB campaign worker reported cooperation from the government. Poloff saw transparent boxes and ink being used. As in the presidential election, however, the voter lists continue to pose problems, with many voters turned away when their names could not be found on the lists. ¶4. (SBU) The atmosphere was very different when poloff and the monitors arrived at a third polling station in Giza. There poloff witnessed monitors being roughed up by thugs at the polling station entrance. One monitor reported having had his digital camera taken away and all of the pictures in it deleted and his poll monitor authorization letter torn up. Poloff also heard reports that journalists were being turned away and/or roughed up at this same polling station. -------------- High Profile for the Muslim Brotherhood -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In a town between Giza's urban area and the countryside, poloff observed frantic, fierce campaigning, with stiff competition between two independent candidates one from the MB, with no evidence of NDP activity. Nasr City, northeast of Cairo, saw active campaigning by independents including male and female MB members. Monitors there had been questioned by security officials as they entered a Nasr City polling station but were admitted. Journalists, including three TV cameras, were observed inside and outside the polling station. This polling station was housed inside a police station, a violation of stated policy. In nearby Heliopolis, there was a vocal MB presence but not many voters. A group of 100 MB supporters had managed to rally inside a polling station, chanting, "Islam is the solution, the Koran is the basis." -------------- Upper Egypt -------------- ¶6. (SBU) In Minya, four hours south of Cairo, polling stations were quieter. NDP and MB posters were ubiquitous, but few party campaign workers were seen near the polls. In those instances where campaign workers were distributing flyers, MB workers were the most prominent. Turnout remained light. Domestic monitors who spoke with emboff generally reported few difficulties. One complained that one poll station manager was admitting only NDP voters, but that situation appeared exceptional. Security presence was light. -------------- Getting out the Worker Vote for less than $10 -------------- ¶7. (SBU) In one district near Cairo, emboff visited a polling station with 2,200 registered voters, two-thirds of whom work at nearby factories. Two of these factories are owned by candidates, one of whom is with the NDP and the other an independent formerly with the NDP. That station was surrounded by campaign workers, again with MB representatives dominant. Police were cooperative. Buses delivered workers from the factories to the polls. MB campaigners at the station reported that NDP campaign materials were inside the polling station but otherwise had no complaints. ¶8. (SBU) Despite the general satisfaction expressed by the MB workers at this station, emboff did witness what appeared to be NDP vote-buying: a woman came out of the polling station, approached an NDP worker, and asked for the money she had been promised. The NDP worker escorted the worker away, but emboff was told separately that votes are going for 50 Egyptian pounds (approximately 9.00 USD). -------------- Food Boxes in Maadi -------------- ¶9. (SBU) In Maadi, a middle to upper class suburb of Cairo, and in the vicinity of a nearby cement factory, there was active campaigning by NDP and MB workers inside and outside of the polling stations. Trucks and loudspeakers were present and large buses and mini-buses transporting voters, some of them from the government, were parked a few streets from the polling station. Few inked fingers were observed. There were lots of food boxes on the ground and NDP, MB and independent candidates were observed distributing candy and flowers to voters. Emboff observed representatives from both the NDP and the MB issuing pink voter cards to anyone who presented a national ID card, allowing them to vote in violation of the voter registration law. -------------- "Battle of the Bands" in the Delta -------------- ¶10. (SBU) In Menoufiyya governorate in the Nile delta region, poloff reported strong MB organization, including banners, loudspeakers and campaign workers wearing vests and headbands decorated with pictures of candidates. The environment was like a "battle of the bands" with loudspeakers from the various parties competing for the voters' ears. The independent candidates are also using loudspeakers for voter education, explaining the mechanics of voting for an "independent" versus a candidate from a particular party. But by 1200 noon, some monitors still had not received the entry cards required for admission to polling stations. In addition, there were reports that many polling stations did not open at all until late morning. RICCIARDONE