Saturday, May 24, 2025
Village Voice News
[adning id="37476"]
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Home
  • News
  • Sports
  • Editorial
  • Letters
  • Global
  • Columns
    • Eye On Guyana
    • Hindsight
    • Lincoln Lewis Speaks
    • Future Notes
    • Blackout
    • From The Desk of Roysdale Forde SC
    • Diplomatic Speak
    • Mark’s Take
    • In the village
    • Mind Your Business
    • Bad & Bold
    • The Voice of Labour
    • The Herbal Section
    • Politics 101 with Dr. David Hinds
    • Talking Dollars & Making Sense
    • Book Review 
  • Education & Technology
  • E-Paper
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Sports
  • Editorial
  • Letters
  • Global
  • Columns
    • Eye On Guyana
    • Hindsight
    • Lincoln Lewis Speaks
    • Future Notes
    • Blackout
    • From The Desk of Roysdale Forde SC
    • Diplomatic Speak
    • Mark’s Take
    • In the village
    • Mind Your Business
    • Bad & Bold
    • The Voice of Labour
    • The Herbal Section
    • Politics 101 with Dr. David Hinds
    • Talking Dollars & Making Sense
    • Book Review 
  • Education & Technology
  • E-Paper
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Village Voice News
No Result
View All Result
Home Global

Egypt starts voting in first stage of parliament elections

Staff Reporter by Staff Reporter
October 24, 2020
in Global
Protests have been effectively banned under a restrictive 2013 law, and a renewable state of emergency has been in place since 2017 [File: Mohamed el-Shahed/AFP]

Protests have been effectively banned under a restrictive 2013 law, and a renewable state of emergency has been in place since 2017 [File: Mohamed el-Shahed/AFP]

0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Protests have been effectively banned under a restrictive 2013 law, and a renewable state of emergency has been in place since 2017 [File: Mohamed el-Shahed/AFP]
More than 4,500 candidates are running as independents and on lists of party alliances for polls that critics says will establish ‘rubber-stamp’ parliament.
Egyptians are voting to elect a new parliament which critics say will just replicate a “rubber-stamp” body in place since 2015 under hardline President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
In the second national elections this year, the country will be electing 568 seats out of 596 in the lower house of parliament from Saturday.

The remaining deputies will be appointed by the army general-turned-president el-Sisi, whose government has over the years silenced any serious political opposition to its rule.

READ ALSO

Harvard sues Trump administration for blocking foreign student enrolment

Xi stresses high-quality cultural-ethical advancement

More than 4,500 candidates are running as independents and on lists of party alliances. They are widely seen as backers of el-Sissi, who
has been governing Egypt since 2014.

Final results are not expected until mid-December.
Giant billboards have sprung up across the bustling capital, Cairo and elsewhere ahead of the vote that takes place on Saturday and Sunday.
And some candidates are campaigning online and have released video clips with songs to draw support.
But many of those running also stood for election five years ago in a political landscape marked by the presence of dozens of parties with little weight and influence on the ground.

The 2015 parliament was the first to come into office after the army, led by el-Sisi, deposed former leader Mohamed Morsi following widespread protests against the country’s first democratically elected civilian president.
“Parliament has become an apparatus attached to the executive authority with no real legislative authority,” said Hassan Nafaa, a political science professor at Cairo University.

“It has almost never questioned any of the government’s policies or carried out any of the functions that parliaments normally do.”
‘Facade’

Most of the candidates are fielded by a pro-government coalition led by the Mostakbal Watan party, or the “Nation’s Future Party”.
It includes top businessmen and public figures and has grown since 2014 to be one of the dominant political forces.
Earlier this week, its leader Abdelwahab Abdelrazek was named head of the Senate.
The October vote is the second to be held amid the COVID-19 pandemic which has so far infected more than 105,000 people and killed nearly 6,200 in the country.
In August, Egypt held elections for the newly restored 300-seat Senate in muted upper house elections marked by low voter turnout of about 14 percent.
The reinstatement of the upper house – which was abolished after Morsi’s removal – was among the constitutional amendments that Egyptians overwhelmingly voted for last year.

Other amendments included potentially extending el-Sisi’s rule until 2030, boosting his control over the judiciary and granting the army even greater influence in political life.
“The return of Senate was unnecessary, and parliament only serves as a facade of a legislative authority in Egypt,” said Saeed Sadiq, a professor of political sociology at Nile University.

He said he expected few among the the country’s 63 million eligible voters would cast their ballots this weekend.
Speaking from London, Wafik Moustafa, Chairman of the British Arab Network agreed that most people would not be taking part in the vote, explaining that the Egyptians had lost confidence in el-Sisi’s elections.

“People will be boycotting these elections because the parliament itself has no legislative power,” said Moustafa.
“It is a fake parliament that has never questioned the government,” he added.
Under el-Sisi authorities have cracked down on dissent, in a move which has ensnared journalists, online bloggers, lawyers and intellectuals.
Protests have been effectively banned under a restrictive 2013 law, and a state of emergency, which has been extended repeatedly, has been in place since 2017.
“The public space is only filled with movements, ideologies, and parties supportive of policies of the current ruling system,” said Nafaa.
“There is not a single sign showing that this climate allows for free and real elections.” (Aljazeera)

ShareTweetSendShareSend

Related Posts

Harvard University
Global

Harvard sues Trump administration for blocking foreign student enrolment

by Admin
May 23, 2025

(BBC News) Harvard is suing the Trump administration after it revoked the university's ability to enrol international students, escalating a...

Read moreDetails
People visit a stall at a book fair in Beijing, capital of China, May 1, 2025. /VCG
Global

Xi stresses high-quality cultural-ethical advancement

by Admin
May 23, 2025

Chinese President Xi Jinping has underscored the importance of promoting high-quality cultural and ethical development to provide robust spiritual support...

Read moreDetails
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning at a regular press briefing in Beijing, China, May 21, 2025. /Chinese Foreign Ministry
Global

China steps up poverty reduction cooperation with SCO countries: spokesperson

by Admin
May 23, 2025

Since assuming the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), China has hosted a series of events focused on...

Read moreDetails
Next Post
Polish President Andrzej Duda (Reuters)

Covid-19: Poland President Duda tests positive for virus


EDITOR'S PICK

Quad foreign ministers expected to meet the day after Trump inauguration

January 17, 2025
Dylan Walker takes a selfie in front of the Great Hall of the People on March 4.

From visitor to voice: reporting at the two sessions

March 13, 2025

Linden ambulance driver under police guard following alleged robbery

September 25, 2020

On CARICOM’s 50th anniversary TUC calls on Heads of Gov’t to get their act together

July 4, 2023

© 2024 Village Voice

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Sports
  • Editorial
  • Letters
  • Global
  • Columns
    • Eye On Guyana
    • Hindsight
    • Lincoln Lewis Speaks
    • Future Notes
    • Blackout
    • From The Desk of Roysdale Forde SC
    • Diplomatic Speak
    • Mark’s Take
    • In the village
    • Mind Your Business
    • Bad & Bold
    • The Voice of Labour
    • The Herbal Section
    • Politics 101 with Dr. David Hinds
    • Talking Dollars & Making Sense
    • Book Review 
  • Education & Technology
  • E-Paper
  • Contact Us

© 2024 Village Voice