- FJP News
- November 28, 2011
- 5 minutes read
Morsi and Katatni During Inspection Tour: People are the Real Winner in Egypt’s Elections
Dr. Mohamed Morsi, Chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), and Dr. Mohamed Saad Katatni, the party’s Secretary-General, went for an inspection tour that included a number of polling stations in ‘Old Cairo’, accompanied by a number of Party members, supporters and media delegates.
During a visit to the polling station at Ahmed Lutfi Primary School, Dr. Morsi stressed that what is happening today is a tremendous democratic entitlement. The day witnessed a huge turnout in all constituencies and governorates, which denotes real awareness and desire for change on the ground and proves that Egyptians have restored their free will.
Dr. Morsi pointed that participation in the election today reflects the Egyptians’ desire to have a real parliament that truly represents them, soon, through this electoral process which has been unfolding in an excellently smooth fashion so far.
He also pointed out that popular control and high attendance at polling stations are the best guarantees for the integrity of the electoral process, and that the full judicial supervision also helps, and so does follow-up by civil society organizations and the media.
In response to a question about the nature of the work of the Monitoring Committee set up by the party, Dr. Morsi said that this committee monitors, rather than supervises, the election process. It receives complaints and reports of problems that occur in the districts and governorates, for submission to Egypt’s High Judicial Elections Commission (HJEC), and tries to solve these problems.
Dr. Saad Katatni pointed out the safeguards established by HJEC, which announced that at the end of today’s voting, all remaining documents will be secured, the day’s votes will be counted. Then ballot envelopes, boxes and the polling stations’ doors and windows will be sealed. This process will take place in the presence of representatives of candidates and parties, and there will be a security team in the school playground where each polling station is located, and another security team outside.
Dr. Katatni praised the civilised manner in which the unprecedented huge turnout confirmed that the democracy train in Egypt has left the station, and there is no turning back.
He paid tribute to the martyrs of January Revolution, stating that without their sacrifice “We would not have lived this wonderful day”, pointing out that he did not see any political currents in the polling stations, only Egyptian people from all sectors, all walks of life, old and young, children, men and women, Muslims and non-Muslims: it’s the people – the real winner this day.
Dr. Katatni explained that the Egyptian people came out to make the Parliament of the Revolution, so it would be representative of all trends and show the world that the Egyptian people, who made the revolution of January, are capable of making genuine democratic elections that work.
