Reem Leila reports on the security forces' preparations to ensure a smooth election More than 2,000 male and 30 female police officers have been trained on how to secure the election process, says Major General Refaat Mohamed Qomsan, assistant minister of interior for financial and administrative affairs. The training, which has taken place over the past three months, has covered all aspects of the election, including ensuring the safety of candidates and voters and responding to on-the-ground incidents as they develop. The training courses, says Qomsan, have been designed to promote greater awareness of the culture of human rights among police personnel. The aim, he says, is to prevent the kinds of irregularities that have occurred in previous parliamentary elections. Female police officers will guide female voters and help them solve any problems they face. "The upcoming parliamentary elections will be decisive, and much hope is pinned on citizens' awareness to develop parliamentary life in Egypt," said Qomsan. Both the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) and National Council for Women (NCW) are cooperating with the Ministry of Interior, helping to provide police officers with the information, scientific and technical expertise that will enable them to perform their jobs properly. The NCW and NCHR, says Qomsan, have also furnished an opportunity for officers in the Security Forces Administration to exchange information and discuss different approaches to work, including continuous job performance appraisal inside the ministry and training on how to deal with issues related to human rights. In a statement to the press, Minister of Interior Habib El-Adli confirmed the upcoming People's Assembly elections will be held amid tight security. El-Adli warned both voters and candidates against any incitement to riot or otherwise breach electoral rules. Such actions, he said, would be severely punished. He urged the citizens to avoid acts of extremism and called on all candidates to abide by the laws governing the voting process, while at the same time affirming that the role of the police would be limited to securing proceedings outside polling stations. Security personnel were criticised during the 2005 parliamentary elections for being too passive in the first round and then committing violations during subsequent rounds, particularly in seats contested by the Muslim Brotherhood. Such irregularities, argues Qomsan, were a result of the intensity of the competition, particularly in southern rural constituencies where family and clan affiliations came to the fore. Accordingly, constituencies that are expected to see the most bitterly fought contests will have the heaviest police presence this time round. Previous elections were followed by allegations that police officers had in some constituencies stuffed ballot boxes with fraudulent ballot papers in favour of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). In order to avoid this, police officers will be allowed inside polling stations only after the station's head has sealed ballot boxes with red wax to avoid any forgery. "Their task will be restricted to guarding the boxes and carrying them safely to the vote-counting committees," said Qomsan. The Minister of Interior has instructed all governorate security directors to undertake their tasks with strict neutrality. In case of violent acts, however, says Qomsan, "policemen will immediately arrest those involved and take all necessary legal action against them." "Our task, in the end, is to secure the polling stations and not to promote any candidate at the expense of another," Qomsan concluded.
