The military council has prepared a comprehensive plan to secure the voting process. It remains to be seen whether it will make the voters feel safer, Amirah Ibrahim reports Just five days before the parliamentary elections, the violent clashes between protesters and security forces in Cairo and other major cities in Egypt have dented cautious optimism that the vote would proceed smoothly. When violence broke out on Saturday in Tahrir Square, Mohsen El-Fangari, a member of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), issued strongly-worded statements emphasising that the army and security forces can secure the parliamentary elections slated for Monday 28 November. Over the last several months, the public has been concerned over lax security in the wake of the country's uprising early this year. The crime rate has risen dramatically since but army generals and police officials insist the elections will signal a new chapter in the security apparatus. But the use of overt violence against protesters over the week has refuelled concerns about whether the government is capable of safeguarding the elections and, indeed, the integrity of the entire process. Several candidates said they were putting their electoral campaigns on hold while others denounced the violence but insisted they will run in the elections. Ten days ago, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the SCAF head, held a meeting with SCAF members and high-ranking Interior Ministry officers to put the final touches on a comprehensive plan to safeguard the elections and ensure the safety of voters. "The SCAF has prepared a comprehensive plan to deal with any scenario targeting the voting process," El-Fangari stated. He said full coordination between the military and the Ministry of Interior to secure the elections and the streets in general has been agreed. "Police forces are assigned to secure voting booths from outside but inside there will be no policemen at all," he added. Instead, highly trained security agents will be present to handle any criminal attempt to spoil the voting process or attack voters. According to military sources, the SCAF's plan to secure the elections will be put in place via widescale help from army units from several branches. Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Reda Hafez said voting boxes will be sent from isolated points to central voting booths. "Judges will be monitoring the ballot boxes wherever they are sent," Hafez explained. He added that the air force will be assigned to provide air cover over the country as a protective measure. Navy Commander Admiral Muhab Mamish said naval units were being assigned to help secure voting sites at all coastal governorates. "In addition to guarding the coastline, our troops will take part in securing the voting process and helping the police forces, the same as we did during the 19 March [constitutional referendum] poll," Mamish told Al-Ahram Weekly. The country's 27 governorates are under the supervision of six military zones: the central zone, the northern, western and southern zones, the second army and the third army. Each military zone supervises an operation field that consists of a number of governorates. The biggest is the central zone which supervises nine governorates, including the greater Cairo area (Cairo, Giza and Qalioubiya). In addition to Cairo, which includes the biggest number of voting booths, another governorate supervised by the central military zone, Fayoum, is part of the elections within the first phase, starting on 28 November. The central military zone supervises Fayoum. Over the past two months, all military zones have launched raids in cooperation with police forces on criminals' hideouts. "The criminals are paid thugs who were hired by the former regime during previous elections to frighten voters and control the process in favour of certain candidates," a security source said. He asserted that the army and police force will secure not only voting sites but also the streets leading to them. A press conference on Monday regarding security issues during the elections was put off due to the violent clashes which broke out on Saturday. A new date for the press conference is yet to be announced.
