A report published by Presidential Elections Observatory of Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights
Presidential Elections Observatory of Maat Foundation published its fourth report to observe the atmosphere surrounding the electoral process, in conjunction with the end of the first stages that began officially on 20 January 2018 with opening the door for candidacy, and after an stimulating atmosphere throughout the period of candidacy papers submission and collecting related accreditations. The stage was concluded by only two candidates who will complete the presidential race which will end with the announcement of the new president on 1 May 2018.
The report stated that the stage of candidacy and accreditation collection was full of political events, which left a wide controversy because of the existence of a single competitor only in front of the candidate Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, who was basically one of his most prominent supporters, before applying his papers in the last minute.Thus, there was wave of criticism for the whole process where the opposition forces described it as a play, while those forces failed to express themselves realistically by introducing serious competitors who have popularity ,integrity , and accepted legal positions.
The stage of candidacy was also characterized by the activities of a large number of campaigns supporting the current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, which witnessed many law violations, especially that some of these campaigns witnessed the participation of executives in advertising conferences of a particular candidate, which is a clear violation of the rules governing the electoral process.
The report reviewed the laws regulating this period of the electoral process, the most important decisions of the National Elections Commission, and the most prominent topics that have been controversial in the Egyptian political arena, especially regarding the arrest of former candidate Sami Anan . The report also discussed the role of civil society organizations in observing the electoral process, as well as the emergence of calls for boycotting the elections.
The report recommended that the National Electoral Commission should intervene regarding the advertising campaigns violations and it should be a quick intervention to stop and fine the person supported by the campaigns . Moreover, it should increase the control of the Supreme Council of Media on newspapers and programs, especially with regard to the apparent support of many programs for a particular candidate and attack on the opponents candidates, while recommended that political parties should activate their organizational presence and develop their capabilities to ensure a popular assembly in the stages of electoral competition.
