egypt-final-presidential-elections-2012

The Carter Center
Presidential Election in Egypt
Xinshu Zhao
A group of Egyptian voters in Menya expresses their views to long-term witness
Lucy Provan.
international organizations to deploy election
“witnesses” (mushahedeen in Arabic) or “followers”
(mutaba’een in Arabic)
and allowed them to
operate in a manner
generally consistent with
internationally recognized
standards for observation.
The same terminology
was adopted for the presidential
election.
Limitations on
Witnessing the
Presidential
Election
The election witnessing rules imposed by the PEC
and the late stage at which both international and
domestic witnessing groups were accredited severely
limited their ability to follow the election process and
draw overall conclusions about the process based on
direct observation. As mentioned above, elections are
comprised of interrelated components, and it is necessary
to observe all aspects of an election in order to
provide a comprehensive and accurate assessment.
The Center could not witness key parts
of the electoral process, preventing it from
conducting a comprehensive assessment of
the electoral process as a whole.
On March 7, 2012, the PEC invited
eligible voters to cast their ballots
for the presidential election on May
23 and May 24, 2012, with a second
round, if required, to be held on June
16 and 17, 2012. 24 This announcement
initiated election preparations,
beginning with the preparation of the
voters’ list. However, PEC Decision
Nos. 11 and 12 of 2012, which regulate
domestic and international witnessing
organizations, were not issued until
April 23, 2012. By this time, critical
components of the electoral process
were already underway or had been
completed. The Carter Center was
only accredited as an organization on
May 3, 2012, and the badges necessary
for witnesses to observe the process were only
provided on May 16, less than seven days before
polling commenced. As a
result, the Center could
not witness key parts of
the electoral process,
preventing it from
conducting a comprehensive
assessment of
the electoral process as a
whole. 25
PEC regulations also
prohibited witnesses from
issuing public statements
prior to the announcement of results. Although the
PEC ultimately allowed witnesses to issue public
statements after the vote count and prior to the
official release of results, this regulation prevented
24 PEC Decision No. 5 of 2012
25 It should be noted that The Carter Center was informed by both the
PEC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that its witnesses could not
undertake any activities that constitute witnessing before receiving their
individual accreditations. Later, during postelection debrief sessions,
both authorities argued that Carter Center witnesses could have been
witnessing starting from May 3, 2012, when the Center was accredited as
an organization. This is contrary to instructions received by The Carter
Center both verbally and in writing from the PEC.
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