In Egypt, The National Elections Authority has rejected the request of the Sadat Development and Social Care Association to monitor the upcoming presidential elections, despite meeting all the registration requirements and criteria, according to the association’s chairman, Mohamed Anwar Sadat.
Sadat added that an official letter of eligibility for the association to monitor the elections was issued by the Ministry of Social Solidarity, citing its previous experience, qualifications, and participation in monitoring electoral processes since its establishment in 2004. Sadat emphasized that the association was rejected while approvals were granted to friendly and cooperative associations and councils.
As the nomination period for the Egyptian presidential elections approaches, opposition forces criticized what they described as “weak monitoring mechanisms” for the voting process, calling for “more serious guarantees.” On the other hand, leaders of local organizations that received official approval to monitor the electoral process, expected to take place in the coming months, stated that “the objections are misplaced.”
The “Democratic Civil Movement,” an opposition coalition of 12 parties and public figures, previously called for a “package of guarantees for the integrity and transparency of the presidential elections,” including “subjecting the entire electoral process to monitoring by local and international organizations known for their neutrality and impartiality.”
The website “X,” formerly known as Twitter, witnessed a debate about the names of organizations whose requests to monitor recent electoral processes were accepted. Former Egyptian Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei was involved in the debate, criticizing the “weakness of these organizations.” The Egyptian government’s Official Gazette recently published the decision of the National Elections Authority to accept the requests of 34 local civil society organizations to monitor the electoral processes, in addition to the National Council for Human Rights, the National Council for Women, and the National Council for Disability Affairs, as well as 9 foreign organizations and institutions, in the electoral monitoring database.
Among the foreign organizations announced to monitor the Egyptian elections are the “Arab Organization for Human Rights,” “Uganda Forum for Non-Governmental Organizations,” “International Sitting Forum,” and the “Arab Parliament, which has led to mockery and the use of exclamation marks on social media due to the unfamiliarity of these associations and the absence of a credible opposition civil society organization to monitor the Egyptian elections.
