Irregularities in Egyptian vote?

So far, everyone that I have spoken to in the streets have told me they either plan to vote "no," or already have voted "no." I heard reports yesterday that local mosques in and around Hurghada have been handing out pamphlets telling people that voting "yes" is a religious obligation. Which, of course, it is not. But it rings of tactics of the Mubarak regime; using faith as a means of furthering political aims.

With this in mind, I was not surprised to read this on al-Jazeera today. It will be interesting what results come out of the vote throughout the country today! Make sure if you haven't already that you check out my post from yesterday, featuring the voice of a Revolutionary Youth and his impressions of what the voting today may bring about!

Irregularities in Egyptian vote?

By Gregg Carlstrom

Three hours into Egypt's constitutional referendum, we're hearing reports of high turnout - and potential irregularities.

Voters have reported long lines (see the photos below), with some predicting an hours-long wait to cast their votes. That's mostly been viewed as a positive development, a sign of high voter enthusiasm - a major change from last year's fraudulent parliamentary election, which saw turnout as low as 10 per cent in some parts of the country.

But some voters are reporting a more serious problem: unstamped ballot papers.

Each ballot needs an official stamp on the back, or it can be thrown out as illegitimate. What we're hearing is that some polling centres in Cairo and its suburbs are distributing unstamped papers. In some cases, election judges will (when asked) provide stamped papers; in other cases, they refuse, offering instead to sign the ballots - which does not legitimize them.

Here's a photo of how the stamp should look: The green heading says "stamp of the committee," and underneath is an ink stamp from the local election committee.

We've heard these reports of unstamped ballots in Giza, Mohandiseen, 6th of October City, as well as several polling centres in Alexandria.

Here are a couple of photos of queues that have been posted online; the first is from Giza, the second from Cairo:

Egypt and the proposed boycott

This is a story that I have been following with great interest. Not only because I have been living here for over four years and have been able to observe the political spectrum, but because of how this election can potentially re-shape the face of Egypt.

With the polls opening in November, the question on many Egyptians minds is who will succeed the Mubarak throne. Will Gamal assume the post after his father, or will the Egyptian political sphere be shaken up and a new name ascend to the "regal" title of President.

I have quite a few friends who are actively campaigning on facebook for the succession of Gamal to the Presidency. This stirs my interest for a few reasons. Firstly, by Gamal winning the post, would it not make it blatantly obvious that Egypt is in fact a monarchy? Or will he also win the post with an astounding 90 percent of the votes in his favour (cough cough, previous elections ring any bells?).

I have previously posted a story about the Egyptian Cultural Minister rallying a group of intellectuals around him to oppose Gamal's campaign. Unfortunately the nature of political reporting in Egypt is such that it can be quite difficult to gather all the details surrounding each story, as many journalists fear the backlash that may occur if they publish something wrong, or slighted, or even remotely challenging.

Mr. Mohammed ElBaradei is a leading figure in the opposition in Egypt. He is currently rallying the Egyptian youth and population to entirely boycott the elections in November, as "Anyone who participates in the vote either as a candidate or a voter goes against the national will." Mr ElBaradei later told reporters: "If the whole population boycotts the elections totally, it will be in my view the end of the regime."

My opinion on the upcoming elections aside, how is boycotting them entirely going to help? If the population really wants to invoke change, wouldn't voting be the way to do that? How is sitting back and doing nothing not a way of asserting that the population no longer cares, that they have accepted the fact that they have no control over their political future.

To read the full article, check here.