Judicial Committee Supervising Referendum Allows International Organizations to Monitor Referendum

Judicial Committee Supervising Referendum Allows International Organizations to Monitor Referendum

"The Supreme Judicial Commission overseeing the referendum has decided to allow Human rights and civil society groups to monitor the referendum on constitutional amendments," an international human rights organization said.

Sameh Bakr, representative of the Norway-based Arab-European Center for Human Rights and International Law said to "Ikhwanweb" that they were officially authorized to monitor the referendum on constitutional amendments at a time that they were not allowdeed to do earlier and was regarded as an interference into the country’s internal affairs.

In its official website, of which Ikhwanweb obtained a copy, ECME said that being allowed to monitor the referendum "represents an unprecedented change towards democracy in Egypt’s political arena."

They added that international supervision is one of the mechanisms to ensure freedom and fairness of any polls taking place in the world and represent a variable as an intermediary between the electoral process and democratization, adding that "there are some Arab countries that allowed international oversight, such as: Yemen, Sudan, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria.

They expressed their heartfelt thanks and gratitude for the Egyptian judiciary, which gave an honorable example of integrity, transparency, and democracy in Egypt and the Arab world, based on the independence of real and tangible progress towards a democratic society, emphasizing the Centre’s intention and its desire to monitor the presidential and parliamentary elections and dispatch observers from the Arab and European Union.

The statement also maintained that the observers have a certain role that does not pass it, namely oversight, follow-up and issuing reports on accuracy and integrity of the electoral process, noting the oversight, in any way, should not affect national sovereignty, because the center does not represent the states, but neutral international organizations.