THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XIV, Issue # 14, January 24, 2012
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
DON'T IGNORE ELECTORAL FRAUD IN EGYPT
By Daniel Pipes & Cynthia Farahat
THE NEW POLITICAL REGIME IN EGYPT & HOW IT WAS CREATED: EGYPT'S MILITARY RULERS RESORT TO ELECTION FRAUD IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT
THE ISLAMISTS HOLD A MAJORITY OF THE SEATS IN EGYPT'S LEGISLATIVE LOWER CHAMBER, THE PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY. THE EGYPTIAN MILITARY LEADERSHIP
TACTICALLY EMPOWERS ISLAMISTS AS A FOIL TO GAIN WESTERN SUPPORT, ARMS, & MONEY. MEMBERSHIP IN THE PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY REFLECTS LESS THE
COUNTRY'S PUBLIC OPINION THAN IT DOES A PLOY BY THE RULING MILITARY LEADERSHIP TO REMAIN IN POWER.
FULL STORY:
When Egypt's legislative lower house, the People's Assembly, convened on January 23, 2012, Islamists held 360 out of its 498 seats, or 72 percent. This astounding
figure, however, reflects less the country's public opinion than it does a ploy by the ruling military leadership to remain in power.
In a recent article ("Egypt's Sham Election," December 6, 2011) we argued that, just as Anwar El-Sadat and Hosni Mubarak in the past "tactically empowered
Islamists as a foil to gain Western support, arms, and money," so do Mohamed Tantawi and his Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) "still play this tired
old game."
Mohamed El-Baradei left the presidential race complaining about its fraudulent quality.
We offered three proofs for this assertion: (1) local electoral deceits; (2) the SCAF offer of a "deal" to the Islamists; and (3) the military having subsidized Islamist
political parties. Seven weeks later, various signs point to fraud on a far grander scale.
The Free Egyptians Party, Egypt's leading classic liberal political party, announced on January 10, 2012, that it had filed more than 500 complaints about People's
Assembly elections, "but no legal action was taken" in response. The Party pulled out of forthcoming upper house (Shura Council) elections -- because "violators
are awarded with electoral gains and those abiding by the laws are punished" -- and called for cancelation the elections.
Mohamed El-Baradei, former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) withdrew his candidacy for President on January 14 because of
his perception of rigged elections: "My conscience," he announced, "does not permit me to run for the Presidency or any other official position, unless it is within
a real democratic system."
Six parliamentary candidates filed official complaints against a range of officials and demanded that the elections be annulled and redone, reports the newspaper
El-Badil in its January 10 edition. One of the candidates, a Wafd Party candidate named Ibrahim Kamel, explained how he acquired government documents
indicating that fewer than 40 million Egyptians were eligible to vote, while the current elections included 52 million voters, implying 12 million fraudulent ballots.
This increase was achieved, he said, by taking the names and identification numbers of legitimate voters and duplicating them between 2 and 32 times in other
electoral precincts.
Mamdouh Hamza, head of the Egyptian National Council, an NGO, confirmed this tampering to El-Badil, dubbing it "the biggest crime of fraud in Egyptian
history." He demanded that the People's Assembly elections be redone from scratch.
In contrast, the victorious Islamists, who despise constitutional democracy, made little effort to conceal their electoral success through fraud. Some of them went
so far as proudly and unapologetically to assert that it's their Islamic duty to be dishonest. Tal'at Zahran, a leading Salafi, called the constitutional democratic
system "infidel," "criminal," and "out of the Elders of Zion." He cynically observed that "it is our duty to forge elections; God will reward us for this."
Revealingly, Tal'at Zahran also praised Tantawi:
"Just as we gave Mubarak the bay'a [Islamic oath of loyalty], we
now support SCAF. If Tantawi decides to stay in power, we will
support him until the day he dies."
Reports indicate that Islamists and the military are working smoothly together on such key matters as military autonomy and amending the 1971 Constitution.
Their cooperation makes sense, for Islamists seek Muslim unity so as to focus full attention on the infidel enemy (especially Jews and Christians).
With so much evidence of fraud at hand, it bewilders us that Western politicians, journalists, and scholars continue to see the shoddy results of the just-concluded
Egyptian elections as a valid expression of popular will. Where are the cynical journalists casting doubt on the Salafis coming from nowhere to win 28 percent of the
vote? Why do hard-boiled analysts, who see right through rigged elections in Russia and Syria, fall for "the biggest crime of fraud in Egyptian history"? Perhaps
because they give Cairo a break on account of it having cooperated with Western powers for nearly 40 years; or perhaps because Tantawi rigs more convincingly.
Given SCAF's explicit disdain for the election results, we are also surprised that analysts expect these significantly to bear on the country's future. In fact, SCAF
manipulated the recent elections for its own benefit; Islamists are pawns in this drama, not kings. We are witnessing not an ideological revolution but a military
officer corps staying dominant to enjoy the sweet fruits of tyranny.
© 2012 by Daniel Pipes and Cynthia Farahat. All rights reserved.
Originally Published in National Review Online, January 24, 2012
Reprinted with Permission of Daniel Pipes & Cynthia Farahat
Reprinted from DanielPipes.org, January 24, 2012
URL: http://www.danielpipes.org/10548/egypt-electoral-fraud
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Egypt, Arabs, & the Middle East
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
North Africa -- The Arab States of Islamic North Africa
The Middle East & the Arabs
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
International Politics & World Disorder:
War, Peace, & Geopolitics in the Real World:
Foreign Affairs & U.S. National Security
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
U.S. National Security Strategy
Dr. Daniel Pipes (DanielPipes.org) is President of the Middle East Forum and Taube fellow at the Hoover Institution. Ms. Farahat (CynthiaFarahat.com) is an
Egyptian activist and co-author of a book about the Tahrir Square protests.
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