Egypt fears low turnout at presidential vote amid boycott calls

The Egyptian government urges voters to make a strong showing in presidential elections amid a growing trend among young people to stay away.


By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa
25.05.2014



Cairo (dpa) – Egypt's interim rulers and pro-military broadcasters have launched a high-profile campaign to urge people to vote in the presidential election on Monday, the seventh vote since the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosny Mubarak.

Patriotic songs and TV ads are often played on state-run and private media.

A strong show at the polls will lend legitimacy to former army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, who is widely expected to win the vote.


Al-Sissi last year deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi and launched a deadly crackdown on supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood group, now banned under anti-terrorism laws.

“What did Egypt gain from your silence? Don't deny it your vote. You are shaping tomorrow on your terms, it is a good omen," sings Emirati singer Hussein al-Jasmi in a video clip showing Egyptians dancing as they carry placards reading "vote" and "participate."

An ad campaign on the privately-owned Al-Qahira Wal Nas TV also urges people to vote "to prove to the world" that the June 30 protests that led to Morsi's removal "were not a coincidence."

In January, the government hailed a 38.6 per cent turnout in the constitutional referendum, though that figure was low compared to previous polls, including the constitutional amendments in March 2011 and the 2012 presidential election, won by Morsi.

After more than three years of turmoil, some Egyptians are apathetic to an election whose outcome is almost certain. Leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahy, the only other candidate in the election, is almost certain to lose to al-Sissi.

“I believe the elections are not based on democratic principles, there are no equal opportunities for the candidates, and neither has presented something that would allure me to choose one of them,” said activist Mina Thabet.

Al-Sissi's popularity rose in July when he announced Morsi's overthrow after millions took to the streets to demand that Egypt's first democratically elected president step down.

Thabet, who co-founded the Maspero Youth Union three years ago to defend the rights of Coptic Christians, was a fierce opponent of Morsi and supported his overthrow.

He cites a security crackdown on Morsi's supporters that expanded to target secular activists as the military-backed interim government has restricted freedoms, targeting journalists and political activists critical of its work.

In November, the government adopted a controversial law that required organisers to give three-day notice to police before holding demonstrations, and granted law enforcement agents the power to ban any rally deemed a threat to public safety.

One month later, a court sentenced three prominent activists to three years in prison on charges of organizing illegal protests and attacking police officers.

“This atmosphere gives me very negative indications for the coming period. Democracy does not start at the ballot box, it starts with respecting diversity in opinions and ends with elections,” Thabet said.

"I ask all Egyptians, especially women, to prove their deep sense of patriotism by going to vote," al-Sissi said in a pre-election address. "I also ask the young people to participate regardless of who you want to vote for."

The Muslim Brotherhood, which maintains that Morsi is the president and labels his removal a coup, is boycotting the vote.

In a recent poll by the Egyptian Centre for Public Opinion Research (Baseera) 80 per cent of people surveyed said they would vote, while 12 per cent said they would boycott. The remaining eight per cent were undecided.

Egypt's April 6 Youth Movement, which played a key role in the protests against Mubarak and Morsi, said it would boycott the election, describing it "a farce."

Several senior members of April 6 have been imprisoned, including founding member Ahmed Maher.
"Today we are facing an event that has confirmed all our fears and warnings: military rule is back in a clear, direct way,” the group said.

The Strong Egypt party, led by moderate Islamist Abdel-Moneim Aboul Fotouh, also said it would boycott the election.

The party opposes al-Sissi. Three of the party’s members were sentenced to three years in absentia in February, a month after they were arrested while distributing flyers calling for a No vote in the constitution referendum.

"Al-Sissi will win anyway, no one doubts this. So, what difference will I make by going (to vote)?" asked Salem, 50, standing in his Cairo kiosk where he sells candies and cigarettes.

Economic challenges on the horizon for Egypt's next president

By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa

16.05.2014 | picked up by China Post

Cairo (dpa) – More than three years ago, Egyptians took to the streets demanding "bread, freedom and social justice."

After two presidents were ousted and unrest spread in the Arab world's most populous country, millions of Egyptians seem willing to sacrifice freedom for the fulfilment of the two other two demands.

Neither ex-army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi nor his only challenger, leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahy, has unveiled a clear plan to achieve these demands after the May 26-27 presidential elections.

Al-Sissi, whose popularity soared after he announced the overthrow of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July, is widely expected to win.

Economist Rashad Abdou sees a "problem" in Sabahy's election programme.

"Since he knows that his election chances are slim, he is making excessive promises to help workers, create jobs and support small- and medium-scale enterprises ... But he does not specify how he will get the money to do all of this," Abdou told dpa.

"Al-Sissi's programme also lacks a lot of things, since he was a military man and had little or no relationship with other state sectors," he added.

Since Morsi's toppling, oil-rich Gulf countries have committed some 20 billion dollars to Egypt, and many expect this support to continue if al-Sissi takes office.

While the Gulf aid has given Egypt some economic relief, it will not fix the country’s problems, according to Steven A. Cook, a senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

"By financing new spending with grants from the Gulf, Egypt is merely shifting fiscal problems into the near future," he wrote in a recent paper. "Second, receiving more assistance only masks problems that are rooted in irrational and conflicting economic policies."

These policies, including unsustainable food and fuel subsidies and a tax policy that does not produce enough revenue, place significant pressure on the government's budget, according to experts.

"The (next) government will have to strike a balance between the need to stimulate growth and to achieve fiscal sustainability," said David Butter, an associate fellow of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House.

"I would expect efforts to continue to rein in energy subsidies and the government will look to increase tax revenue, though not necessarily through measures such as hiking the corporate tax rate, as this could be counter-productive," he added.

For years, critics have said Egypt's subsidies on basic commodities do not benefit those in need and even foster corruption.

In a bid to change this, the incumbent government has announced plans to start a smart card-rationing system for two vital commodities: bread and fuel.

Earlier this month, Supplies Minister Khaled Hanafi said a smart-card system for bread distribution rolled out in the coastal city of Port Said reduced wheat consumption by 30 per cent.

There are similar plans for fuel: to end subsidies on 95-octane gasoline and set quotas for other subsidized fuel.

In the 2011-2012 budget, energy comprised 72 per cent of the whole subsidy allocation, while food subsidies accounted for 14 per cent.

A bigger challenge for the next president will be cutting subsidies for energy-intensive industries such as steel and cement that widely benefit from the subsidy of natural gas.

Abdou believes cutting subsidies is vital. However, he does not think it would eventually benefit the lower classes.

"The finance minister said the budget deficit will reach 340 billion pounds (around 48.5 billion dollars) this year," said Abdou, who heads the Cairo-based Egyptian Forum for Economic and Strategic Studies.

"Yet, the rich are actually stronger than the state. So, they will add cost difference to the price of their product, thus affecting the low-income earners."

More than 40 per cent of Egypt’s 85-million-strong population live below the poverty level of 2 dollars per day, according to unofficial figures. 

To achieve social justice and ease the economic crisis, Abdou said the government needs to start a dialogue with the business sector and impose a certain profit margin to rein in inflation, which stood at 9.1 per cent last month.

The government has recently increased prices of natural gas for factories and houses, sparking public fears about a fresh spate of price hikes.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has described Egypt's energy subsidy reforms as "encouraging" and called on the next president and parliament to press ahead with reforms.

"I think no matter who is in charge, economic reforms will be a must," she told CNN.

"And if that is done thoroughly, decisively, I'm sure there will be growth and investment. But the reform stage is certainly a condition to that."

Egypt’s tourist hub Luxor hopes for post-election boom

Residents of Egypt's southern city of Luxor, where many of the world's greatest monuments are believed to be located, hope the next president will help bring back tourists, who have stayed away due to more than three years of turmoil.

By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa

06.05.2014

Luxor, Egypt (dpa) – Haj Mahmoud carries some blue scarab pendants, the famous ancient Egyptian symbol and amulet, and hands them as gifts for the few visitors arriving at the Valley of Queens in the southern city of Luxor.

Wearing a grey gallabiya (flowing gown) and a white scarf wrapped over his head, the traditional costume in southern Egypt, the old man hopes the gifts will lure visitors to buy souvenirs from his shop, and may be also ward away the evil eye off his dying business.

Braving the scorching sun of May, Mahmoud is one of a few locals who continue to open their shops outside one of Luxor’s most famous tourist sites, despite the scarcity of visitors.

“May God ease our lives and make things better soon,” he says as he points to the sky. “After elections, hopefully, it will start getting back to how it was," he adds, referring to presidential polls scheduled for late May.

The tourism industry, once a pillar of Egypt's economy, has been reeling due to turmoil that has gripped the country for more than three years.

Luxor Temple - 2014. (Nehal El-Sherif)

According to official data, tourist arrivals in Egypt in the first two months of 2014 dropped by 28 per cent to 1.3 million in comparison to same period last year.

Unrest and bombings that have increased in recent months have been blamed for the decline in numbers of foreign visitors.

European countries have issued several travel alerts against visiting certain areas in Egypt, including the Sinai where most deadly insurgency attacks have taken place.

Most travel warnings were issued after a February attack on a tourist bus in Sinai's Taba resort town, near the border with Israel, that killed three South Koreans and their Egyptian driver.

"One of the problems is that there is no negative travel advice for Luxor, but inevitably as the travel companies will tell you that when people see a negative ban even on one part of the country, especially older people … they get nervous,” James Moran, the head of Delegation of the European Union to Egypt, said during a recent visit to Luxor.

“This is why we are here today to some extent show people all is fine in Luxor; come and visit this fantastic place,” he added.

Tourism was first hit by the 2011 uprising against long-time president Hosny Mubarak, which pushed revenues down by 30 per cent, compared to those in 2010.

The situation got worse as violence increased after the army's ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July.

In the run-up to the May 26-27 presidential elections, bombings have surged in Egypt, though no violence has hit Luxor.

Ex-army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, who led Morsi's overthrow, is a lead presidential candidate whose supporters see him as able to end the unrest in the country.

Mansour - who works on a horse-drawn carriage, a popular ride in Luxor - and his little boy also hope for “some tourists” after the elections.

“I am tired of this slow business. My family is tired. Even the horses are tired. There is not enough food for them,” Mansour says as he points to two frail brown horses next to him. “The president should bring back security, so we would get more tourists.”

A hotel receptionist said that even a 2013 air balloon crash in Luxor that claimed 19 lives did not affect the rate of visitors as the unrest in other parts of the country did.

Luxor’s worst attack was in 1997 when almost 60 tourists were killed in an attack by radical Islamists on the Temple of Hatshepsut. The attack caused a collapse in the local tourism industry, the mainstay of Luxor's economy.

Minister of Tourism Hesham Zaazou said the rates of occupancy in tourist hotels in Luxor right now are lower than expected.

“The rate is between 10-12 per cent, but it is better in other parts of Egypt,” he said.

Zaazou pins hopes for a revival on the autumn season starting September, when more people usually head to sunny tourist destinations.

"This is a safe city, and its people have always been good to foreigners since they depend on tourism to earn a living."

Spanish version here and here
German translation here and here 

Egypt's al-Sissi discloses two assassination attempts

By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa

05.05.2014

 

Cairo (dpa) - Former army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi on Monday revealed two assassination plots against him, in his first TV interview in his campaign ahead of this month's Egyptian presidential elections.

The two attempts were uncovered since July, when he announced the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.

"I am not afraid," al-Sissi said in the interview, aired late Monday on two channels.

Al-Sissi's campaign is expected to depend mainly on media interviews, and not street rallies, due to security concerns, leading into the May 26-27 elections.

He is widely expected to win, as supporters say he is the only person able to end the violence and bring back stability to Egypt.

Al-Sissi became Egypt's most popular politician since the army ousted Morsi, who was beset by mass protests against his own one-year-rule.

During the interview, the ex-defence minister denied that the military rules Egypt.

"The army did not rule before to rule now," he said. "During the past 30 years, did the army have a role in ruling the country? No."

"The army worked on its main role to protect the country and contribute in the (country's) development if it was possible."

Asked if the army will have a role in ruling Egypt if he was elected president, al-Sisi said: "No, of course not, really."

His statements come amid criticism by some activists and politicians that his presidency will take Egypt back to military rule.

In 1952, a group of army officers who named themselves the Free Officers Movement overthrew the Egyptian monarchy and established a republic. Since then, Egypt's first four presidents all came from the military.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces ruled Egypt for a year and half after the ouster of president Hosny Mubarak in 2011.

Morsi was the first civilian leader.

Al-Sissi said he decided to run because of the threats facing Egypt "from inside and outside," amid the increasing violence since Morsi was toppled.

Hundreds of people have been killed in political violence in the since July amid a deadly security crackdown on Morsi's supporters.

Over the last 10 months, hundreds were killed and thousands detained, including leaders of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood.

Islamist militants in Sinai have targeted security forces since the 2011 uprising that overthrew Mubarak.

The attacks have intensified and spread to mainland Egypt since the army deposed Morsi. The government said more than 400 members of the security forces have been killed in militant attacks and clashes over the last year.

During the interview, al-Sissi ruled out any prospects of reconciliation with the Brotherhood, which the government declared a terrorist organization in December.

"The Brotherhood's problem is not with me, but with the Egyptian people," he said, adding that there will be "nothing called the Brotherhood" during his rule.

The field marshall's only opponent in the elections is leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahy.

Sabahy got third place in the 2012 elections, which Morsi won.

Libya parliament confirms appointment of Ahmed Maiteeg as new premier

By Pol O Gradaigh and Nehal El-Sherif

05.05.2014 - published here

Cairo (dpa) - Libya's parliament on Monday confirmed the appointment of Ahmed Maiteeg as prime minister, the official Lana news agency reported.

The General National Congress published a formal resolution confirming the appointment and giving Maiteeg 15 days to nominate his cabinet, the report said.

"Ahmed Omar Maiteeg was appointed head of the transitional government and asked to form his cabinet and present it to the General National Congress for a confidence vote within 15 days from this decree," read the document signed by Speaker Nuri Abu Sahmein.

Abu Sahmein called his deputies and heads of the parliamentary committees for national security, defence, internal and foreign affairs for an emergency meeting to discuss the security situation in the country.

The decree came after a dispute about the validity of the procedures that led to Maiteeg taking the oath of office on Sunday evening.

The 42-year-old businessman received a vote of confidence from 121 of the parliament's 200 members after a lengthy session. However, many legislators were initially absent.

That led acting congress president Ezzedine al-Amawito to say overnight that the last few ballots were invalid because they were cast after he closed the session, leaving Maiteeg seven votes shy of the 120 required.

Al-Awami instead asked acting premier Abdullah al-Thini, who resigned three weeks ago citing an attack on his family, to stay on as caretaker premier.

London-based newspaper Al-Hayat reported Monday that Maiteeg is seen by some members of Congress as close to the Islamist camp, but quoted sources close to the new premier as denying that he had any partisan affiliations.

Al-Thini had been appointed by Congress after it voted out the last person in the job, Ali Zeidan.

Zeidan, who had been in conflict with the assembly's dominant Islamist faction for months, was weakened politically by his failure to prevent a tanker loaded with crude oil from setting sail from a rebel-controlled oil terminal in eastern Libya.

Libya's interim authorities, riven by factional struggles, have been unable to gain control over the myriad revolutionary brigades that sprung up during the 2011 revolt against longtime ruler Moamer Gaddafi.

Yemeni army officer, French national shot dead in Sana'a attacks

By Pol O Gradaigh and Nehal El-Sherif, dpa

05.05.2014

Cairo (dpa) - A Yemeni army officer and a French national were shot dead Monday in separate attacks in the Yemeni capital Sana'a, local media reported.

Gunmen in a car opened fire on the vehicle in which the Frenchman was travelling. Two more foreigners were wounded in the shooting, a security official told Barakish news website.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned the killing of a member of the team providing security to the EU delegation in Yemen.

"The EU's presence in Yemen aims only to assist the country in its transition to democracy and in its economic development. To target persons engaged in this effort is evil and senseless," she said.

"The EU calls on the government of Yemen to take all necessary measures to restore security in the country, without which no progress on other challenges facing Yemen will be possible."

The UN Security Council condemned the attack: "Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is criminal and unjustifiable."

In a separate attack, gunmen shot Mohammed Qauzia, identified as a security officer in a military language school, near his workplace, local news website al-Masdar Online reported.

A bomb exploded near an army bus with no reports of casualties.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which come as the army presses its offensive against remote hideouts used by members of Yemen's al-Qaeda affiliate in the southern provinces of Shabwa and Abyan.

The official Saba news agency reported Sunday that troops had killed 37 al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) fighters, mostly foreign nationals, in clashes in Shabwa.

Yemeni security forces last week launched a major offensive in the rugged interior of the southern provinces.

The AQAP leadership and many of its fighters are thought to have been holed up in the region since mid-2012, when the military and allied tribal fighters forced them out of a string of southern towns they had occupied for about a year.

AQAP has been targeted in recent months by renewed US drone raids, carried out with the consent of the Yemeni government.

Libyan parliament elects businessman as new prime minister

 

By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa

04.05.2014

Picked up here

Cairo (dpa) - Businessman Ahmed Maiteeg was elected Sunday as Libya's new prime minister after receiving 121 votes in parliament, the official LANA news agency reported.

He was then sworn in and given two weeks to form a cabinet.

His election came in the second session of the day after an earlier session failed to secure him the 120 votes needed among the 200 members for victory.

Maiteeg, 42, is a businessman born in the coastal city of Misurata who studied economics in London. He is supported by the Islamist bloc in parliament, according to the broadcaster Al Arabiya.

He won against political analyst Omar al-Hassi. The two were selected from a group of seven candidates in a previous session last week.

The first round of voting was held Tuesday but was interrupted when gunmen fired shots in the air outside the parliament building and lawmakers were evacuated out the back door.

Some members of the General National Congress were challenging Sunday's vote. A member told al-Wasat news website that the vote was illegal because the speaker had declared the session over, then was pressured to continue and hold another round of voting.

The member, who was not named, said Maiteeg's supporters pressured some members who originally voted for al-Hassi to change their ballots in the second round.

The votes were held to replace prime minister-designate Abdullah al-Thini, who resigned three weeks ago, citing an attack upon his family.

Al-Thini had been appointed by Congress only the week before after it voted out the last person in the job, Ali Zeidan.

Zeidan, who had been in conflict with the assembly's dominant Islamist faction for months, was weakened politically by his failure to prevent a tanker loaded with crude oil from setting sail from a rebel-controlled oil terminal in eastern Libya.

Libya's interim authorities, riven by factional struggles, have been unable to gain control over the myriad revolutionary brigades that sprung up during the 2011 revolt against longtime ruler Moamer Gaddafi.

King Tutankhamun’s tomb replica opens in Egypt

By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa

30.04.2014 - picked up here, here and here

Luxor, Egypt (dpa) – A replica of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb was officially inaugurated on Wednesday, with authorities hoping it will boost the tourism industry hit by more than three years of unrest and political instability.

Built by Madrid’s Factum Arte Foundation, the replica was created to help preserve the original tomb, which was discovered in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter.

The facsimile was set up next to Carter's house, near the Valley of the Kings in the southern tourist city of Luxor.

"The replica's importance is to decrease pressure of visitors going to original tomb," Tourism Minister Hesham Zaazou said.

He added that tourists would still be allowed to visit the original tomb, but it would be more expensive.

"It is still early. But I believe that half of the visitors will visit the replica either because it will be cheaper or out of curiosity to compare it with the original."

Deterioration of the original tomb is believed to have been caused by warmth and moisture brought into the tomb by visitors.

"The original tomb was painted to last for eternity, but it was not painted to be visited," said Adam Lowe, Factum Arte director, who was in charge of setting up the facsimile.

"It is my dream that it will last for 3,000 years."

Lowe said the replica tomb could receive about 30 people at a time.

The replica is the first stage of a larger project that involves creating exact replicas of tombs of the 19th dynasty pharaoh Seti and Queen Nefertari, the wife of Ramses II – both sites are currently closed to the public.

Known as Egypt’s boy pharaoh, Tutankhamun, who took the throne at the age of nine, has fascinated Egyptologists and the general public since his mummy and the treasures hidden in his intact tomb were unearthed.