In the early morning hours of elections day, Cairo seemed uncommonly calm. But this potentially vibrant day is nevertheless marked by expectations and early signs of violations. Al-Masry Al-Youm observed a shortage of public buses, which are commonly used on elections day to collectively transfer government employees and pro-ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) members. A sign of potential violations to come, one eyewitness told Al-Masry Al-Youm that on Saturday afternoon he saw security forces carrying visibly full ballot boxes into a polling station in Heliopolis. In the downtown district of Kasr al-Ainy, the parliamentary contest is witnessing mounting cynicism. Gameela Ismail, independent candidate for that area and former wife of opposition leader Ayman Nour, threatened to withdraw from the contest due to what she described as increasing irregularities, particularly with regard to the supervision of the voting process. Al-Wafd Party has also been complaining about irregularities in the district. “This year the competition is severe, especially as both MPs Hesham Khalil and Abdel Aziz Mustafa, who are running as the National Democratic Party (NDP) candidates in the same district, have been developing manipulative, illegal means to win their seats,” said Azmy Megahed, who is running as the Wafd candidate in Kasr al-Ainy district. According to Megahed, both candidates depend on bullying and bribes to win the majority of votes, taking advantage of the deteriorating economic conditions of some citizens living in the area. The standing price for votes is from LE100 up to LE200, in addition to two kilos of meat, he said--while the candidates themselves have not carried out any reforms throughout their five-year parliamentary period. Megahed cited the example of al-Taybi neighborhood, a slum area which lacks basic infrastructure. “This country needs a change,” he said. NDP candidates also share fears of violence. Talaat al-Quas, an MP since 1995 who is running as the only NDP candidate in the nearby Abdeen area, said the situation this year is very different from previous elections. “Egypt has never witnessed such huge demonstrations and protests against the government.” He expects that the elections will witness violent clashes between different candidates' supporters, especially the Muslim Brotherhood who, according to al-Quas, are hoping for a considerable number of seats, as in the 2005 parliamentary elections when they garnered 88 seats. However, al-Quas ruled out the possibility of rigged elections: “We do not need international monitoring to guarantee the transparency of our elections because it would constitute unwarranted interference in Egypt's internal affairs.” In Masr al-Qadima district, candidates told Al-Masry Al-Youm they anticipate the most election violence throughout Egypt, particularly in light of inter-NDP competition. In an unprecedented move, the NDP has nominated more than one candidate per single seat, to accommodate a large number of applications. "If you're fielding more than one candidate from the same party, of course they'll resort to butchery and violence to show that they're different--how else will they differentiate themselves?" one campaigner told Al-Masry Al-Youm. In Giza, al-Sayed Nezeily, Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson for the governorate, said he expected the contest to be particularly violent in certain districts. "I expect violence to erupt during the first part of the day in Giza," he said. "Voters will be intimidated. It will be hard for the delegates of opposition candidates and namely Muslim Brotherhood candidates to get into the polling stations. Voters who are expected to cast their ballot for non-NDP candidates will not be allowed in either." "We hear that the police are hiring thugs and this shows that a lot of violations will happen. It is easy to deal with thugs belonging to other candidates, but it is not easy to deal with thugs supported by [the police]," he said. "We will not do anything in response. We cannot react to violence with violence. We call upon voters to stand up to all that and go out and cast their ballot," he added. In clear interference with the campaigns of Islamist candidates, all posters of Muslim Brotherhood candidates were taken down in the Dokki district, according to Nezeily. "The only ones who can eliminate are the police," he said. "The Muslim Brotherhood always used to field candidates in this district so we have a strong base there,” said Essam al-Shahed, Muslim Brotherhood candidate in Dokki. “Besides, our campaign style is different; we knock on doors and communicate with people directly," he added. Al-Shahed won the same district seat in the municipal council in 1992. His main competitor is heavyweight NDP parliamentarian Sayyed Gohar, who served as the district MP for the last four parliamentary sessions. Yet, al-Shahed still fears a violent poll. “I do not expect the poll to be like it was in 2005, given the fact that there is no judicial supervision.” Mohamed Abou Sleit, NDP workers seat candidate in Haram, Omraniya district, refuted the Brotherhood member's claims. “I expect the poll to be transparent,” he said. “The party has no interest in interfering [with the poll] because it is fielding more than one candidate, so it is already leaving it to the people to choose X, Y, or Z.” Abu Sleit is competing with another two NDP candidates for the same seat in the Giza governorate. “If people go out to vote, they will not leave room for any rigging, whether by the government or by any other candidate,” he insisted.
