A coalition of local human rights organizations on Wednesday lambasted restrictions on electoral oversight set by Egypt's High Elections Commission (HEC). According to a statement issued by the Independent Coalition for Monitoring Elections, the HEC restrictions constitute "serious obstacles and impediments" to the work of civil society monitors. The coalition went on to call on the HEC to review its position and allow rights organizations to monitor Sunday's parliamentary elections and allow all monitors to inspect polling stations as long as they carry permits from the HEC. Local opposition parties and movements complain that Egyptian elections lack even a modicum of integrity. Observers believe the ruling National Democratic Party is attempting to secure a landslide victory in the parliamentary polls in advance of presidential elections slated for next year, in which President Hosni Mubarak is expected to run for a sixth term as president.
