Excerpt
Unexpectedly large crowds of Egyptians on Monday defied predictions of bedlam and violence to cast their votes in the first parliamentary elections since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.
The apparent success of the initial voting surprised the voters themselves. After a week of violent demonstrations against the interim military rulers, many said they had cast their ballots out of a sense of duty and defiance, determined to reclaim the promise of their revolution, even as the ruling generals said they intended to share little power with the new Parliament.
“The revolution started so that our voice has a value, so we have to do what we are supposed to do,” said Lilian Rafat, 23, who stood in line for more than four hours, even though she put the chances of a legitimate result at only about “50 percent.”
But the large turnout on Monday, despite long delays and sporadic violence, raised the possibility that when the last phase of voting is completed in March, the process may result in the first broadly representative Parliament in more than six decades. The opening appeared to bring the Muslim Brotherhood, a once-outlawed Islamist group, one step closer to a formal role in governing Egypt. And, for the first time in 10 months, it offered the promise of moving the debate over Egypt’s future off the streets and into the new legislature.
For now, though, the act of voting itself appeared to vent to the public’s anger after a week of clashes that brought hundreds of thousands out in Cairo to demand that the military hand over power to a civilian government. Abandoning talk of a boycott, protest leaders urged supporters to go to the polls. And the diversion, along with a swell of pride in the historic vote, drained the continuing occupation of Tahrir Square to just a few thousand demonstrators.
"Egypt's elections go smoothly amid protests" by Sarah Lynch, USA Today 11/29/2011
Widal Abdel Ghany emerged from her polling place Monday holding up an ink-stained thumb.
"Egypt, Egypt!" yelled the 49-year-old nurse after voting for the first time .
People waited in lines that ran hundreds of yards outside polling stations surrounded by police and soldiers in what many Egyptians regarded as the first free elections in decades. Men and women were in separate lines so long authorities extended voting by two hours. But overall the voting was smooth, election monitors said.
Previous elections were usually rigged by the Egyptian dictatorships until the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in February.
Political opponents were banned or jailed in the past and election results were widely considered to be fraudulent.
Monday's elections are for the lower house of parliament and will be held in three rounds over the next two months. But not all were pleased.
Protesters continued to occupy Tahrir Square, where clashes between security forces and protesters broke out Nov. 19. The violence sparked clashes across the country that lasted six days, leaving more than 40 dead.
Demonstrators were demanding that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, ruling since Mubarak's departure, be replaced by a civilian body until a president is elected in mid-2012.
"We are having elections during a sit-in, during demonstrations and violence by security forces against civilians," said Kamel Saleh of the Social Democratic Party. "This is not a good atmosphere to hold an election because it will scare voters, resulting in misrepresentation and skew the balance of power."
Many feared violence would break out at polling stations, but the mood was generally subdued.
"We expected some clashes," said Ramadan Mahmoud, 60, as he watched people line up to vote. "But when we got here, we saw that everything was calm."
Polls indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, is expected to win the most sizable portion of seats in parliament of any party. Some analysts predict Islamists — Brotherhood candidates and Salafi Muslims who practice a hard-line strain of Islam — likely will win a majority of seats.
The electoral law was modified significantly leading up to elections in a supposed attempt to ensure that all parties and minorities are represented in the parliament.
Voters cast ballots that had individuals and party lists. Independent candidates were running for one-third of parliament's 498 seats, and two-thirds of seats were reserved for winning party lists. Also, half of the seats were allotted to "farmers" and "workers."
"We've moved from probably the simplest form, which was a majoritarian system, to probably the most complex of electoral systems, which is a mixed system," said Mazen Hassan, a lecturer in political science at Cairo University.
Among concerns are the complicated ways votes will be counted, such as the difference between how votes are calculated for independent candidates vs. those for parties.
"There are mathematical calculations that everyday Egyptians won't be able to follow," Hassan said. "If justice needs to be watched and understood, that will be difficult. Not all people will understand how votes translate into seats."
Problems were already seen Monday. Some polls opened an hour or two late. Additionally, the Egyptian Coalition for Electoral Observation documented violations in the form of non-stamped ballot papers, and thuggish acts that in one case prevented voters from reaching the polls.
"The observers also noticed electoral bribing in few voting centers, which was familiar before the Egyptian revolution," the group said in a statement published on its website.
Some political parties boycotted the election, claiming that under military rule, elections will be illegitimate.
"We cannot get a clean election while Mubarak's army generals are still in charge," said Hossam al Hamalawy, a member of both the Democratic Workers Party and the Revolutionary Socialists group, which are boycotting the elections. "Police who are supposed to be securing the ballot boxes are the same ones who have been murdering us for the last days, months and years."
In Tahrir Square, demonstrators staged a sit-in to continue to pressure the military generals ruling the country to resign.
"Being in Tahrir is the first step in the revolution," said Mahmoud El Sharkowy, 25, with the Egyptian flag painted on his face. "The second step is getting the military council to leave, and the third step is elections."
Most, however, have say that political battles will be won at the polls.
"There are two different forms of fighting for the cause of the Egyptian people," said Saleh. "We have been in Tahrir Square since day one but also need to fight in elections."
While the first election since Mubarak's ousting has its many challenges, most remain optimistic.
"My country has changed, God willing," Fadilla Ahmad Fouli says. "And the future will be beautiful." Moments later, she cast her ballot.
I sincerely hope the remainder of the process goes well. Good luck to the Egyptian people.
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