CAIRO: Vice Chairman of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) said in recent press statements that the council rejected any international supervision over elections in Egypt. “Counselor Moqbel Shaker's opinion may reflect the main trend of the [regime], the ruling party and the government. But it does not stand for the views of … human rights organizations and opposition groups or public opinion,” Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies senior researcher Nabil Abdel-Fattah commented. “International supervision over elections has become part of global political life. For example, in the US, France and the UK, elections are subject to international scrutiny. It is a global political phenomenon,” Abdel-Fattah told Daily News Egypt. Last June, the Supreme Electoral Commission — formed by a presidential decree and including members of the judiciary as well as a number of public figures — supervised the elections of the Shoura Council (Upper House of Parliament). In recent years, several judges unveiled violations and forgeries committed during parliamentary elections, a fact many analysts believe has led to the regime attempting to keep away direct judicial supervision over elections. Following controversial constitutional amendments in 2007, the judiciary no longer has complete supervisory authority over elections. “It is necessary to guarantee the integrity of elections in Egypt, especially with the doubts raised in the past few years about results,” Abdel-Fattah concluded. –Additional reporting by Shorouk El Hariry.
