Morsi Campaign Press Release (3) – Runoff Presidential Elections

Dr. Mohamed Morsi Campaign asserts that false reports being circulated about vote rigging in favor of our candidate in some polling stations are mere fables fabricated by certain interested parties tampering with the voting process, determined to accuse us of these illegal acts, although we evidently are the most committed to laws and regulations.

The Morsi Campaign calls on the Supreme Presidential Elections Committee (SPEC) to quickly investigate all those incidents and reveal the perpetrators to public opinion, so people know who is behind these games and plots.

Certain media outlets reported, Saturday, that a Morsi supporter stabbed a farmer – supposedly a rival’s supporter. The Campaign stresses that this is a total fabrication which uses the text and photograph of a story about a Moroccan lady who stabbed her husband, as can be reviewed on the news website called Sabq (the original story is dated March 23, 2012), here: http://sabq.org/bHefde

Citing ‘unknown’ security sources, certain websites claim that the Muslim Brotherhood is making preparations to break into voting centers. This is a completely unfounded lie. It certainly runs contrary to the policies and historic discourse of the Muslim Brotherhood. Meanwhile, this reflects the loose nerves of those sources, who seem to play with fire, at such a crucial time of this homeland’s transition, having realized that the ballot box is rejecting them.

The Campaign has received many reports from our representatives, in polling stations across Egypt, of the rival candidate’s supporters paying cash bribes to some voters.

We call upon the competent army and police security services to quickly investigate and apprehend these and bring them to trial.

In Gharbiya province, the following incidents were reported:

* At polling center No. 24, in Abbas Amer Preparatory School, in Zyfta, 10 names of Dr. Morsi’s supporters were excluded, because – for some unfathomable reason – someone had written “Excluded” opposite their names in the voter registry, although they did vote – without any problems – in the first round of the elections, and their names are still on the General Committee’s website without any such ‘exclusion’. Even more, the judge refused to officially report the incident. Those names included Dr. Adham Shitani and 10 others.

* Our delegates at voting station No. 52, in Ezbit-Safat – Mahalla Town – reported to the judge in charge the presence of a 1000 extra ballots in the voter registry. The judge overseeing the voting process at the station found that those extra ballots belonged to another polling station in the village of Beshbish, Mahalla. The judge then removed the names from the registry and filed an official report about the incident.

* Regular village guards were seen directing voters in favor of Shafiq in the villages of Mahalla Town, polling stations 46 and 47 in Ameriya, stations 37 and 38 in Alshoghaiya, and stations 5 and 6 in Gaberiya. These incidents were promptly reported to the judge and army officers in charge to stop the violations.
In Dakahlia:

* In Gadidat Alhala Village – Mansoura – a number of thugs (a certain Gamal Hosni Ma’ati, along with 2 of his criminal mates) attacked Mohamed Ibrahim Saad, senior representative of Dr. Mohamed Morsy in the region, as he visited polling stations No. 47 and 48 at the village’s junior high school. They wounded him with a bladed weapon. A military force unit attended the scene, and escorted the attackers to a place so far unknown. We are in the process of taking appropriate legal action.
In Qaliubiya:

* At polling center No. 38, in Bahtim secondary school – Shubra Alkheima Sharq – a person was arrested as he tried to use a vote-rigging multi-ballot registry paper in favor of the rival candidate. A report was filed regarding the incident.

* At voting station No. 33, in Kafr Saqr – Kafr Alshoara Sanagha – a citizen called Alaa Abdul Baqi Taha (distributor of butane gas cylinders) stopped his butane gas cylinder van and announced: "I will not give cylinders except to those who vote for Shafiq". The village people gathered and an altercation occurred between the gas man and a citizen called Mahmoud Mohamed Ali, who later went to the police station to file a report on the incident.

* The Mayor of Qiragah Village – called Abdul Maaboud Arafa Saqr – intercepted voters of Ezbet Abu Hindi, assaulted and beat them up, forcing them to turn back without casting their ballots.

* The Mayor of Natoura Village – called Alsayed Abu Ghraib – was seen directing voters at the polling station. Mohamed Ibrahim (Freedom and Justice Party) spoke to him and tried to persuade him to refrain from influencing people’s vote.

* At polling center No. 33, the presiding judge based in Kafr Zawhri School for Basic Education, deliberately checks the ballots for elderly and non-educated voters against their declared desire: they tell him they want to choose Dr. Mohamed Morsi, he ticks the box in their ballots for Ahmed Shafiq instead. Dr. Morsi’s delegate in the center objected to that, more than once, as the voters themselves expressed anger at the judge’s behavior.

* Electioneering violations and irregularities were reported outside voting station No. 32, based at Aldehtamon middle school – Abu Kabir Sharq – where Shafiq supporters broadcast songs and put up posters right in front of the station doors and were clearly involved in illegal electioneering to influence the voters, in violation of the rules of electoral silence.

* At polling center No. 18, in Gamimiya elementary school, the officer in charge informed Dr. Morsi’s representative that he will not allow anyone to stay overnight in the center to guard the ballot boxes, because he received no instructions to do so.

* Burnt ballots were seen and photographed in Nasiriyah Youth Center – Fateh Town in Assiut Governorate. Investigations revealed that some of the ballots that had not been fully burnt. One of these belonged to an assistant police officer in Assiut, called Hassan Mohamed Ali Yusuf. A civil society organization representative filed a police report – incident number 1800/2012.

* Two regular police patrol officers illegally cast ballots, Saturday morning, at polling station No. 7 – based at Koum Seada Elementary School –Badari Town. They were Mofrah Wahba Saad Wahba (Registration No. 740) and Awad Samir Awad (Registration No. 526). The station’s representative recognized them and noted their registration numbers.

* An army recruit, called Hani Mansour Mohamed Hashim (Nationalist I.D. Card No. 28211292502491) illegally voted Saturday at polling station No. 4, at Abnoub junior high school (Registration No. 719).

– In Toson, Alexandria, at polling centers 55 and 56, at Uqba Ibn Nafia School, a citizen was arrested, named Munir Gaber Gad – a Shafiq campaign official – as he tried to use a vote-rigging multi-ballot registry paper in favor of the rival candidate. A report was filed regarding the incident.