Elections countdown: 5 days

Women wearing “hot shorts” not allowed into polling stations

Rafaat Qasman, a general and the vice president of the High Elections Committee (HEC), stated in a press conference on Tuesday that women wearing “hot shorts” would not be allowed in polling stations.

The general began the press conference by stating that international observers are welcome to monitor the elections, and that the state has invited foreign embassies in Cairo to aid with the observation process.

He continued by saying, however, that international observers should be respectful of local traditions and customs, saying, “I attended a conference in Lisbon where we reviewed the international rules on observing elections, and it is necessary for members of observation committees to abide by customs and traditions ... For example, a woman would not be allowed to enter a polling station wearing hot shorts.”

Qasman did not mention any other examples of violations of local traditions besides “hot shorts.”

Campaigning violations

Citing legal analyst Adel Amer, the Reuters-affiliated Aswat Masriya reported that “despite the numerous campaigning violations” – in terms of surpassing legally mandated campaign budgetary caps  – the HEC and its regional branches have not taken any action against such violations.

According to campaign regulations set by the HEC, a maximum campaigning budget of LE7.5 million has been allotted for each electoral list that consists of 45 candidates, while LE2.5 million is the cap for lists that are made up of 15 individuals.

LE500,000 has been allotted to individual candidates’ campaigns.

Other campaigning violations were reported in the local media. The privately owned Youm7 news portal reported that Christian parliamentary candidates have been exploiting an official church service to promote themselves amongst their constituents.

According to Youm7, a total of 19 candidates have resorted to campaigning via the weekly community magazine of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Christian candidates affiliated to the "Knights of Egypt" electoral list have reportedly promoted themselves, and their Muslim campaign allies, in the Western Nile Delta using this platform.

Citing Archbishop Rowees Morcos, Youm7 reported that the church does not support any particular electoral list or candidate, explaining that it “supports only the legal and constitutional right to vote for representatives of their choosing.”

The privately owned Al-Shorouk Newspaper reported on Monday that the Ministry of Religious Endowments is calling on its mosque preachers to dedicate the upcoming Friday prayer sermon (on a national level) to the theme of “positive participation” in the parliamentary elections.

However, Endowments Minister Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa had previously announced that the ministry would not tolerate the exploitation of mosques to promote any parliamentary candidacy.

No official holiday on election days

Local Development Minister Ahmed Zaki Badr has announced on Tuesday that election days will not be official holidays, except for the schools in which the polling stations are held.

The government had announced elections days as official holidays during the presidential elections held in June 2014 and offered other facilitations, such as discounted transportation fares.

Badr also said in a Cabinet meeting yesterday, as reported by the Middle East News Agency (MENA), that the government would take the needs of elderly and special needs voters into consideration by providing benches, shaded areas and medical services in polling stations.

Badr asserted that the government is not biased toward any lists or candidates and only aims for high participation.

Journalists syndicate on the lookout for violations

The journalists syndicate has set up an operations room to observe the elections for violations against journalists, Youm7 reported.

The operations room will receive reports from journalists who have been prohibited from carrying on their work or have been subjected to violations.

Gamal Abdel Rehim, a syndicate board member, told Youm7 that the syndicate’s members will be receiving these reports and contacting the authorities to protect journalists on the job.