Fears of Electoral Fraud in Alexandria Judges Club Elections

The Judicial Independence trend led by Judge Mahmud Makky announced the filing of judicial lawsuit to the Court of Urgent Matters and Judicial Personnel Demands Bureau to invalidate the elections of the Alexandria Judges Club that is due to be held on April 10 for the renewal of the first third of the Club’s judges.

 

The Independence movement includes Judges Ashraf El-Baroudy, Ahmed Mahanna, Ashraf Ramadan, and Mahmud Makky who decided in an urgent meeting Wednesday night to file a lawsuit by this Saturday, April 4, 2009.

 

“The financial tightening and mobilization of supporters for a certain candidate and other such acts that took place in the elections of the Judges of Egypt Club are minor in comparison to those of the Alexandria Judges Club including tampering with election rolls, adding names to it and delaying them, then the announcement of the judicial committee supervising the elections after opening the doors for nomination in yesterday’s meeting,” Vice-Head of the Court of Cassation Judge Makky said.

 

Makky added that the probability of withdrawing from the elections was an option affirming that the matter goes back to the nominees who hold two views.  One side sees the necessity of being present to resist and confront election fraud despite its flagrancy while the other sees that participating in such an election gives it legitimacy and that it must be confronted externally.

 

The Alexandria Judges Club board led by Judge Ismail Bassiouny had announced yesterday the formation of a judicial committee that would be responsible for the elections and announcement of the election roll to which 500 new members were added after opening the doors for nominations. 

 

The Judicial Council, however, ignored Makky’s request of reopening the doors for nominations as an invalidation of the announcement of these procedures which hindered the mobility of candidates, according to the Independence trend.

 

The Alexandria Judges Club had enjoyed increasing attention after the Judges of Egypt Club election results in which the Independence trend won only four seats as opposed to the pro-NDP trend who won the rest of the seats.

 

 

Judge Hasan Soleiman, Head of the Appellate Court, had also intervened against the movement throughout the last period.  People close to him revealed that he had warned in his sessions:  “We will not allow the return of this trend because of what it caused the government during its control,” adding that the “turmoil” had set out from the Judges of Alexandria club to the Judges of Egypt Club against the government,” referring to Egypt Club’s defense of judicial independence.