Archive for polling station

The military court in Ismailia on Monday sentenced a civilian to one year of hard labor in prison on charges of assaulting an army officer during the constitution referendum.  

Adel Mossad, 29, was attempting to cast a ballot on behalf of his father at Naggarin School in Damietta on Saturday in violation of the election law, according to the petition referring him to trial. When the judge supervising the polling station told Mossad he could not do so, the two men quarreled and an army officer was summoned to stop the dispute. Mossad then allegedly assaulted the officer and tore his uniform.   

Days before the first round of the referendum began on 15 December, President Mohamed Morsy granted arrest powers to the military to assist police forces in maintaining order during the vote. Though the powers were scheduled to expire with the end of polls, the decision drew much criticism from politicians and activists who feared the revival of military trials for civilians. Armed Forces officials said at the time that citizens would only be tried in military court if their crimes involved military personnel. 

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Polling stations have officially closed, amid continuing reports of polling stations around the country closing as early as 9:00 pm. Results from polling stations that closed began to trickle. Egypt Independent provides live updates of the vote counting as it unfolds. 

11:00 pm: Youssef Ragab, a journalist in Qena, told Egypt Independent that at least 15 polling stations were closed there before 9:30 pm. In northern Qena, two polling stations in Nagaa Hammadi reported their results. In the village of Hamra Doum, 230 voters said “yes” and 19 said “no,” while in Abu Hozam 238 said “yes” and 28 voted “no.”

The operation room of the National Salvation Front said that the first polling station in Luxor had announced its results, with 487 voters saying “yes” while 240 voters said “no.”

The Delta city of Qalyubiya also reported its first results from Shibin al-Qanater, where 132 voters said “no” and 112 said “yes.” Two other polling stations in Qalyubiya also announced results at 10:00 pm. The al-Qasheesh polling station in Shibin al-Kanater reported that 236 voters approved the constitution and 108 rejected it, while in Tookh 640 voters approved and 434 rejected the constitution.

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As the first part of the day went by in the second phase of the constitutional referendum, monitoring groups reported scattered violations, including delays in opening polling stations, absent judges and directed voting.

The Free Egyptians Party operations room in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Minya said that 12 complaints were filed in the early hours of voting, mostly related to the identity of women wearing the face veil, the absence of the indelible phosphoric ink and delays in opening the polling stations.

The absence of phosphoric ink was also reported by the operations room of the National Salvation Front in the Delta city of Kafr al-Sheikh. The front’s operations room also reported that in the Delta city of Tala, Monufiya Governorate, voters complained about the absence of phosphoric ink, the voting forms not being sealed, and the voting stations being shut down repeatedly without clear reasons.

Meanwhile, several monitoring initiatives reported group voting and campaigning close to the polling stations.

The head of the monitoring organization Justice and Development, Nady Atef, said that dozens of Islamists have been monitored trying to talk voters into voting “yes” in front of some polling stations in some villages.

In Minya, the monitoring committees of Justice and Development and another group, Popular Watch, spotted Muslim Brotherhood members assembling voters and transporting them in buses to polling stations in Dirmwas and Malawy.

Group voting was also reported by state-run news agency MENA when members of the Freedom and Justice Party in the village of Eastern Tazmnt in Beni Suef, Upper Egypt, transported village residents from their homes to polling stations and instructed them to vote “yes.”

Similarly, a statement released by the National Salvation Front said that in the districts of Imbaba, Giza Governorate, and Khosos, Qalyubiya Governorate, voters were influenced inside and outside voting stations. Group voting was reported by the Front in Tala, Monufiya Governorate.

Meanwhile, the front reported multiple complaints of directing voters inside and outside the polling stations in the Delta’s Kafr al-Dawar in Beheira Governorate, Samalout in Minya Governorate and in the Imbaba district of Giza Governorate.

Lack of judges is another irregularity mentioned by several groups.

In the working-class district of Omraniya, Giza, there are polling stations without judges, some reports said. In other polling stations, judges refused to show their personal identification to prove that they are authorized to supervise the polling booths, a problem that also occurred during the first phase of the referendum. In addition, one person was arrested for impersonating a judge, the National Salvation Front reported.

Meanwhile, a judge at a polling station in Adwa, Minya, discovered that a lawyer belonging to the Freedom and Justice Party was performing the work of the secretary of the High Judicial Elections Commission, which supervises the presence of administrative staff within the polling station‫, MENA reported

Mahmoud Abu Shusha, a member of the secretariat of the high elections commission, claimed that 100 percent of the complaints regarding the absence of judges from polling stations during the first phase of the referendum were proved to be incorrect.

Another member, Mohamed al-Tanboly, said that whoever doubts the identity of a judge supervising a polling station should head to the main polling stations to inquire about the judge’s details, saying that voters’ demands to know the judges’ identities was a burden on them and disrupted their work.

An additional violation reported by the National Salvation Front’s operations room is pre-filled ballots. Such an incident was reported in a polling station in Imbaba, where a ballot box was already filled with cast ballots, despite the small number of voters queuing by the station.

The front added that it witnessed a judge at a polling station in Kafr Saad, Damietta Governorate, stuffing ballot papers inside the box.

Meanwhile, MENA said that ballots were being circulated in Ahnasia, Beni Suef, as people traded them under the direction of Freedom and Justice Party members in the village‫.

The voting, which is taking place in 17 governorates, is expected to conclude at 11 pm.

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The National Council for Human Rights said it recorded 437 complaints in its final report on the first round of the constitutional referendum, held in 10 governorates Saturday.

According to local media, 350 of the complaints were referred to the High Judicial Elections Commission, which is supervising the vote. The council received complaints via email and landline and mobile phones.

The report said the main violations observed by the NCHR, a state body, included delays in opening polling stations, campaigning in front of stations, attempts to sway voters inside and outside the stations, and observers being kept or hindered from their duties by polling station heads and security who didn’t recognize their permits to monitor the process.

It also cited people voting together in the same booth, bribing of voters, pre-marked ballots, access being denied to some voters, as well as poor organization at some stations.

Some voters’ lists were not at the polling stations, the report added. Also, some polling stations closed early in spite of the decision to extend voting hours.

Several rights organizations had accused the NCHR of bias in its monitoring of the referendum. The body is headed by Hossam al-Gheriany, head of the Constituent Assembly, which drafted the constitution.

The referendum took place in Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, Sohag, Gharbiya, Assiut, Daqahlia, North Sinai, South Sinai and Aswan, with the other governorates scheduled to vote on 22 December.

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Polling stations officially closed at 11:00 pm, but social media outlets and users as well as eyewitnesses said that some polling stations are still waiting on some voters to cast their ballots in the referendum on the constitution draft held in 10 governorates on Saturday. Egypt Independent follows the counting process as it emerges. 

2:00 am: In Alexandria, home to 3,347,377 voters and to opposition leader and former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi's victory in the first round of the presidential elections, 42,682 voted "yes" and 83,214 voted "no" in the Muharam Beh district, with a difference of 40,532 votes, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.

1:30 am: In the upper Egyptian governorate of Assiut, home to 2,127,688 voters, vote counting concluded in four districts, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm. Results show 25,819 "yes" voters and 3244 "no" voters. Similarly, there were more "yes" voters in Aswan's initial counting, where results from the city of Aswan (the main district) show 8639 "yes" voters as opposed to 1776 "no" voters. 

In the Delta, a similar advancement of the "yes" votes is shown in initial results, albeit with smaller differences between the "yes" and "no" votes. In Sharqiya, vote counting in a main polling station showed 52,000 "yes" voters as opposed to 19,000 "no" voters. In Daqahliya, home to 3,719,578 voters, 34,493 in some polling stations voted "yes" while 21,160 voted "no". In Gharbiya, 295,000 of the 2,948,656 voters went to a "yes" vote while 208,000 voted "no".

1:00 am: In Cairo, home to 6,580,470 voters, who make for 25 percent of the first phase voters, as results are unfolding, the balance is tipping toward the "no" vote, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm. 

In the working class districts of Sayeda Zeinab, Bab al-Shaariya, Bassatine and Dar al-Salam, 4040 voted "yes" and 8839 voted "no".

In the more affluent New Cairo and Heliopolis districts, there were 4751 "yes" votes counted versus 8946 "no" votes. 

12:30 am: Preliminary results after counting around two million votes out of 26 million show that voters in the Upper Egyptian governorates of Assiut, Sohag and Aswan opted for a “yes” vote, while the balance tipped toward a “no” vote in the coastal city of Alexandria. In Cairo, and the Delta governorate of Gharbiya, results are mixed. According to the pro-President Mohamed Morsy agency Rassd, 1.175.648 voters said “yes” (64.4 percent) and 648.203 voters said “no” (35.5 percent) so far. The figures show an increase in the agency’s count of the “no” vote since an earlier count at 11:00 pm showed a 70.7 percent “yes” vote and only 29.3 percent “no”.

12:00 pm: Vote counting has concluded in several polling stations in all 10 governorates where the first phase of the referendum took place, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm.  Initial counting in many of the 10 governorates shows mores "yes" votes than "no" votes.  

In Upper Egypt's Aswan, home to 872,470 voters, the counting in five polling stations reveals 2726 "yes" votes and 1969 "no".  

In North Sinai, home to 218,618 voters, the results seven polling stations were announced by the supervising judge, whereby 3950 voted "yes" and 303 voted "no".

In the Delta governorate of Sharqiya, home to 3,565,351 voters, results were announced in 17 polling stations, with 14499 voting "yes" and 6926 voting "no".

The state-run Al-Ahram said that the counting in 92 polling stations in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Sohag, home to 2,393,672 voters, shows an 86.5 percent "yes" votes and 13.5 percent "no" votes.

11:00 pm: A fierce debate is taking place right now concerning the legality of closing the polling station before the time set by the high elections commission.

The Freedom and Justice Party’s Facebook page has started at around 8:30 pm to publish the results of some polling stations in Sharqiya, Assiut, Sohag and Aswan. By 9:00 pm, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Twitter account said that preliminary results and exit polls showed a majority voted “yes” on the constitution. Figures published by the FJP's Facebook page show polling stations from Upper Egyptian governorates in Assiut, Sohag and Aswan are overwhelmingly voting “yes.” Other polling stations in the Delta are reported to have more “no” votes.

Rassd said that at 11:00 pm, around 203,000 voted “yes” (70.7 percent), while around 84,000 voted “no” (29.3 percent), after counting 335 polling stations out of 6,367 polling stations in 10 governorates.

Some activists said that these posted results cast doubt over the legality of this procedures.

Zaghloul al-Balshy, the secretary general of the high elections commission, said that the commission would decide later on this issue.

The privately-owned Satellite channel Al-Hayat channel said that some judges closed their polling stations earlier because they objected to the decision of the commission to extend the vote until 11 pm.

Preliminary results are not necessarily indicative of the final results. Smaller polling stations, usually in rural areas, tend to report their results earlier than urban polling stations.

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11:00 pm: Polling stations officially closed at 11:00 pm, but social media outlets and user as well as eyewitnesses said that some polling stations are still waiting on some voters to cast their ballots.

A fierce debate is taking place right now concerning the legality of closing the polling station before the time set by the high elections commission.

The Freedom and Justice Party’s Facebook page has started at around 8:30 pm to publish the results of some polling stations in Sharqiya, Assiut, Sohag and Aswan.

By 9:00 pm, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Twitter account said that preliminary results and exit polls showed a majority voted “yes” on the constitution.

Some activists said that this cast doubt over the legality of this procedures.

Zaghloul al-Balshy, the secretary general of the elections commission, said that the commission would decide later on this issue.

The privately-owned Satellite channel Al-Hayat channel said that some judges closed their polling station earlier because they objected to the decision of the commission to extend the vote until 11 pm.

Preliminary results are not necessarily indicative of the final results, but figures published by the FJP's Facebook page show polling stations from Upper Egyptian governorates in Assiut, Sohag and Aswan are overwhelmingly voting “yes.” Other polling stations in the Delta are reported to have more “no” votes.

Rassd, a pro-Morsy news website, said that at 11:00 pm, around 203,000 voted “yes” (70.7 percent), while around 84,000 voted “no” (29.3 percent), after counting 335 polling stations out of 6,367 polling stations in 10 governorates.

Smaller polling stations, usually in rural areas, tend to report their results earlier than urban polling stations.

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A member of the Freedom and Justice Party was arrested while en route to Heliopolis for possession of an automatic weapon and 160 rounds of ammunition, according to privately owned daily Al-Shorouk's website.

The paper reported that a microbus was stopped at the Salam checkpoint on the Ring Road when one of the passengers, Amr Zaky Awadallah, would found in possession of the weapon during a search of the vehicle.

In a police report, Awadallah said he was on his way to Heliopolis to meet with a leading member of the Freedom and Justice Party, after which both were planning on heading to a polling station with the weapons.

The paper added that Awadallah possessed a Freedom and Justice Party membership ID. He was referred to Marg Prosecution for further investigation.

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Judge Mohamed Abdel Hady, head of the media committee at the Judge’s Club, said that as of 3 pm the club has received about 340 electoral complaints from various governorates.

Abdel Hady told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the complaints were mainly regarding the absence of judges and the attempts to direct people to vote "yes" or "no."

Meanwhile, Zaghloul al-Balshy, secretary general of the electoral commission, said that he doesn’t understand why the Judge’s Club is following the referendum since they refused to oversee the vote.

When asked about what a voter should do if they suspect that the person supervising the vote is not a judge, Balshy said that voters should file a complaint at the police station if they discover that the polling station is not supervised by judges.

He added that the counting process will be conducted in every polling station, and that results from individual polling stations and governorates will be announced today, while final results will not be announced until after the second phase next Saturday.

Other observers monitoring the referendum have said that the absence of judges and attempts to influence voters and prevent Christians from voting are among the most dangerous electoral irregularities that have taken place on Saturday.

The operation room of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party has said that the judge overseeing voting at the Ibn al-Naffes School, allocated for female voters, prevented Christian voters from entering the polling station.

Various observers have said that in many polling stations the people responsible for supervising the electoral process weren’t judges, as the law stipulates. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights reported that at least 10 polling stations in Cairo were opened to voters while judges were not present, citing a polling station in the First Settlement as an example.

Also, some non-judicial employees were allegedly supervising and administering some polling stations.

A number of altercations broke out after voters asked the person supervising the election to present their ID.

Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that a judge detained two women in a polling station, filed a report against them and halted voting in the station after they demanded that he show his ID to prove that he is a judge.

Police officers present in the station apologized to the judge, but asked him to show the women his ID. He did, but insisted on the two being detained.

High Judicial Elections Commission head Samir Abul Maty said the commission called on all judges to place their ID in front of them in order to prevent questions on their ability to supervise the referendum.

The Egyptian Association for Supporting Democratic Development said that first electoral irregularity was the delay in opening the poll stations in many of the polling station around the 10 governorates.

But the group emphasized that the more alarming irregularities included attempts to direct voters, such as in the working class district of al-Waily in eastern Cairo, where an FJP member was publicly directing voters to vote "yes." In central Cairo's Sayeda Zeinab neighborhood, the association said that Muslim Brotherhood members were stationed outside the New Sayeda Zeinab School, ostensibly to help voters know their numbers but also telling them to vote "yes."

The same irregularities were reported in some polling stations outside Cairo where, for example in Daqahlia, members of the Muslim Brotherhood were telling people to vote yes. Some people who were described as Salfis by EASDD were directing people to vote yes in Imam Ali School in Ramla district in Alexnadria.

Attempts to direct the voters were not limited only to Islamists, however.  EASDD reported that a person called Shousha Imran, an alleged former member of the once ruling National Democratic Party, was trying to direct the people to vote "no," adding that Imran attacked members of the FJP and is being held by the Armed Forces.

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights said that it reported illegal electoral campaigning in Zagaziq, capital of Sharqiya, where it said cars drive around the city calling on people over loudspeakers to vote "yes."

The organization also said it had documented many instances of unidentified people attempting to bribe or distribute money to voters, saying that in the Fouad Galal polling station in Old Cairo, people were distributing money to voters and urging them to vote "yes."

EOHR also said that it documented various incidents where judges refused to let monitors observe the vote.

One of the many examples was in a Helway polling station, where the judge denied entry to observers. The Constitution Party's operations room also reported that the judge supervising the Nabiwiya Moussa polling station in Alexandria barred observers from entering the room where voters were casting ballots.

In Ain Shams district, Egypt Indpendent reported that a lack of licenses given to journalists and photographers prevented them from accessing many polling stations, as most of the security personnel were not informed that journalists were not given permits this time.

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