NGOs Slam Restrictions on Poll Monitoring

Permits were issued to 76 Egyptian civil society organizations by the High Elections Commission (HEC) to monitor the country’s parliamentary elections. Election observers complained about the regulations and restrictions on the approved activities for election observers.

HEC head, Al-Sayed Abdel Aziz, asserted that civil society organizations would be permitted to observe rather than monitor the elections. The commission highlighted that a policy had been formed to restrict observers from entering local polling facilities and questioning election workers without permission.

Other restrictions included a ban on filming, photographing, and engaging in any campaigning for any political party. In response to the restrictions, the Egyptian Coalition for Monitoring Elections threatened that it would boycott the elections if its representatives were not allowed into polling stations.