CAIRO, 10 November 2005 — Egypt went to the polls yesterday to elect a new Popular Assembly for the first time since the country's first multicandidate presidential race earlier this year. The elections are expected to see President Hosni Mubarak's ruling party National Democratic Party (NDP) retain its grip on power despite an unprecedented push from the opposition.
The Opposition Muslim Brotherhood movement cried foul over what it described as widespread fraud by the NDP, but independent monitors gave a more positive assessment of the polling process.
Yesterday's poll is the first round in three that will take place in the next six weeks. Election officials reported a turnout of 12 to 15 percent of registered voters.
Competition in the Majlis El-Shaab (Popular Assembly) election has been unusually fierce this time around. Around 1,200 nominees of a total of over 5,000 vied for seats in eight provinces yesterday, including Cairo. Most nominees are running as independents -- though many of them are expected to join a party upon victory, or are already members of the Brotherhood.
During the election campaign, the NDP reiterated its promise for the creation of 4.3 million jobs to curb Egypt's growing unemployment. It has also pledged to work for greater female participation in politics and a substantial increase in wages for public sector workers.
Opposition nominees, however, accused the ruling party of making empty promises. Independent nominee for the rural district of Zagazig Heba Wafa Zein said: "If the pledges had any substance, why didn't the party solve society's problems earlier?"
The NDP has campaigned hard to maintain its majority status in the house. But the party is facing an unprecedented challenge from a coalition of opposition parties composed of nationalist, liberal and leftist groups such as Al-Ghad and the Wafd parties.
The Muslim Brotherhood, which currently holds 17 seats, is also expected to boost its presence in the legislature. "We hope that we will succeed in this election given the relative space of freedom we feel we have been given, compared to past experiences," Mohamed Mansour told Arab News while campaigning at the Cairo district of Al-Basateen.
On the first day of elections, judges, civil society groups and NGOs monitoring the election said some violations took place at various polling stations, but overall the polling was fair and peaceful.
Despite the emergence of violations on various levels relating to the election, many in Egypt believe that the overall political atmosphere is improving, and that this vote is one step forward toward greater freedoms and democratization.
