egypt-final-presidential-elections-2012

The Carter Center
Election Day
Voting is a fundamental exercise of a citizen’s
political rights. The accuracy of the procedures
and process by which these votes are
aggregated is not only essential to the full expression
of popular will but is also critical to ensure the rights
of citizens to both elect and be elected. 149
Throughout the presidential election process, a
judge presided over each of Egypt’s polling stations.
There were a total of 13,097 polling stations during
the first round of voting, and a total of 13,099 polling
stations reported during the second round. 150 In nearly
all cases, a polling station had up to 6,000 voters
allocated to it. 151 During both rounds, voting occurred
between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. over two consecutive days
of polling, with the PEC extending the voting process
for one additional hour to 10 p.m. during the second
round’s last day of voting.
The following observations are summarized from
the nearly 1,900 polling station visits conducted by
Carter Center witnesses across Egypt on the four days
of voting and during subsequent aggregation over the
two rounds of voting.
Poll Opening
Delays in Opening of Polling Stations: Delays in
opening of polling stations were common in both the
first and second rounds of polling. During the first
round of the presidential election, less than one-third
of polling stations visited by Carter Center witnesses
opened on schedule at 8 a.m., and just under twothirds
opened by 9 a.m. There was slight improvement
witnessed during the second round. While less
than one-third of polling stations visited by witnesses
had opened on schedule at 8 a.m., all polling stations
observed by Carter Center witnesses opened by
9 a.m. Delays were generally caused by polling staff
and judges arriving late to polling stations or by the
slow setup of polling stations in those cases where
staff members were in place on time. Reiterating
the necessity of training as noted above, The Carter
Center strongly recommends that in the future,
Egypt’s election management bodies should attempt
to organize a full cascade training program that
emphasizes the importance of timely opening of the
polls and provides better instruction on how to properly
and efficiently set up a polling station.
Additional Procedural Irregularities During
Opening of the Polls: Additional procedure irregularities
during the opening of the polls arose in several
cases. Some judges incorrectly recorded numbers of
ballot books and ballot box seals on the first day.
Witness and candidate agents were unable to confirm
the ballot box seal numbers in a few cases at the
opening of the polling on the second day of the first
round. Also, Carter Center witnesses reported irregularities
such as poor room configuration, staff not
wearing proper identification, or failure to follow all
procedures in sealing ballot boxes, in some instances.
Such cases were rarer during the second round.
Despite late openings and procedural irregularities,
Carter Center witnesses reported that, overall, the
majority of poll openings were administered well.
149 U.N., ICCPR, Article 25 (b)
150 Two polling stations were added to the Aziz Abaza polling center in
Heliopolis, Cairo, due to overcrowding in the first round.
151 Polling stations were classified into three categories for logistical
purposes. The first category of polling stations accommodated less than
2,000 voters; the second between 2,001 and 4,000 voters; and the third
category between 4,001 and 6,000 voters. However, in a few exceptional
cases, in very remote or very densely populated places, the number of
voters allocated to polling stations was as low as a few hundred voters and,
conversely, some had more than 6,000 voters.
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