After EU withdraws, committee says it will still monitor elections

Abdel Aziz Suleiman, secretary general of the elections committee said that EU representatives met with the High Elections Commission on Sunday and agreed to fully monitor the upcoming elections, Masrawy reported.

The European Union announced that it would not monitor the presidential elections, scheduled to start on May 26, after Egyptian authorities did not issue permits for necessary security equipment, “despite our best efforts and repeated requests,” an EU official told Reuters on Saturday.

The EU was planning to send 150 observers and monitors to various areas of the country starting in late April. Deeming it too late for observers to be able to conduct a meaningful observation, the official said the EU would now have a more limited role in the monitoring of the elections, sending an elections assessment team only to the capital.

Similar problems were faced during the referendum on the constitution held in January. The Carter Center announced at the time that it would not monitor the elections and would instead issue a general report on the atmosphere of the country, after the necessary permits were not received.

The High Elections Commission had approved the EU’s request to monitor the elections but did not clear equipment that it considered necessary for its operation and for the safety of its staff.

On Sunday, another group of observers from the African Union arrived in Egypt to monitor the elections. The African Union announced that its team would consist of 43 observers from different African nations.