Former US President calls for International monitoring of elections

Former US President calls for International monitoring of elections

Former US president, Jimmy Carter, currently visiting Egypt called on the Egyptian government to allow international monitoring of the parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on November 28, 2010.

 An official from the Carter Centre at Emory University asserted that former president Carter had submitted many requests to the Egyptian government seeking permission for observers to monitor the upcoming elections. However, it remains unclear whether or not the government will consent.

A new law expected to be approved by the majority of the US Senate calls on the Egyptian government to take the necessary steps to ensure “free and fair elections which reflect the will of the voters”.  It also calls on the regime to allow international observers to monitor elections without any obstacles.

Minister of Legal Affairs and Parliamentary Councils, Mofid Shehab, stated, in a meeting with members of the National Council for Human Rights, that any country which accepts international monitoring during elections lacks sovereignty.

However, a program from US Radio Sawa reported Shehab as having denied that any demands had been made by foreign countries to monitor elections. Nevertheless, he admitted that previous elections had been rigged to some extent, yet he was optimistic that this time round there would be transparency during the elections.

 The elections of Egypt’s Shura Council in June were clearly fraud; despite Shehab confirming their integrity.