Human Rights and monitoring groups say that the election was marred by fraud and violations, reports Mohamed Abdel-Baky "I know ballot cards are being forged inside. They have been since 8am. That is why we were not allowed to enter the polling station," said Mohamed Ibrahim, an NGO observer in Al-Montazah in Alexandria. Ibrahim was forced to depend on candidates' delegates, voters and government employees administering the polling stations to provide information, pictures and videos of any irregularities. Together with 30 of his colleagues security barred him from entering any polling station on the grounds that they lacked Higher Election Commission authorisation. Despite such obstacles observers in many cities around Egypt obtained clear evidence of electoral fraud. A video released by the Independent Coalition for Monitoring the Election (ICME) shows the mayor of Farskoor, in Damietta, forging ballot cards for the National Democratic candidate with the help of more than five people. The video was leaked by a polling station administrator, a government employee who says he "did not want to participate in faking the people's will". Rights groups reported more than 170 incidents of violence, some of which involved firearms. "Acts of violence," says the Egyptian Coalition for Monitoring the Election (ECME), occurred in the governorates of Alexandria, Gharbiya, Kafr Al-Sheikh, Beni Sweif, Giza, Fayoum and Menoufiya. It was sufficiently widespread that one can say "violence was used as a weapon of coercion during the election". Local monitors reported the presence of thugs in the streets. Armed with knives and sticks they attacked voters and damaged public property, according to the ICME. In Damietta ballot boxes were burned. In Fayoum clashes between supporters of the NDP, independent candidates and the Muslim Brotherhood led to many polling stations being closed, preventing voters from casting a ballot. Supporters of the NDP candidate, accompanied by a group of 30 thugs, forced their way into a polling place and clashed with Muslim Brotherhood candidate Magdi Mohamed's supporters. NGOs also report more than 148 cases of security interference involving the detention and obstruction of voters, observers, candidates' delegates and the closing down of polling stations. In Damietta ICME observers at Al-Birashiya School in Al-Zarqa city reported candidates' delegates, including those of the NDP, being barred from polling stations after which a police officer marked ballots in favour of the NDP candidate and stuffed them in the ballot boxes. Denying access to observers and candidates' delegates was a common theme in NGO reports. ECME spokesman Hafez Abu Seada said in a press conference that eight to nine delegates were on average barred from entering polling stations. A candidate has the legal right to send a delegate on his or her behalf to each polling station though the delegates must first obtain documentation from the Ministry of Justice allowing them access, papers that must then be stamped by the relevant police station. Most of the delegates received the Ministry of Justice documentation. The problem was with getting the police to stamp the papers. Cash for votes was also widespread, with the most expensive ballots in Alexandria where voters were being paid up to LE500 a ballot. NDP officials have responded to NGO reports by claiming the election process was transparent and fair. Alieddin Hilal, NDP secretary for media affairs, says "we received just one or two reports of clashes in the Delta". The Higher Election Commission reported that voting progressed "without significant problems".
