AL Monitor‘s Ayah Aman reports on the recent first round of parliamentary elections in Egypt:
Throughout the two days of voting, Oct. 18-19, conflicting figures emerged as to the percentage of voters casting their ballots after the Supreme Electoral Commission announced on the first day of voting that the initial estimated rate of participation was only 1.2% as of the middle of Oct. 18.
This figure raised the ire of the government and official media outlets, which mobilized to urge voters to participate through extensive media campaigns that blanketed official television station airwaves under the slogan of “Inzil” (come down).
Why?
As she headed to cast her vote, Mirfat Hussein, 50, told Al-Monitor, “I am participating out of fear that Islamists and remnants of the old regime would prevail. But I do not expect to be well represented in parliament.”
Along the same lines, a number of young people interviewed by Al-Monitor on the outskirts of Dokki and Agouza neighborhoods indicated that they lacked confidence in parliament and its ability to echo the opinions of the Egyptian people. In that regard, Mohamed Hosni, 20, said, “I do not have a lot of trust in the candidates … and do not expect them to back youth-related issues.”
Hazem Baily, 37, disapprovingly said, “I did not know that there were elections being held in the first place.”
Political activist Safwan Mohammed talked with Al-Monitor about the reluctance of young people to participate, and said, “Lack of participation by the youth in these elections is clear to everyone; the reason simply is that most young political front-runners in Egypt are currently jailed.”
The site Madi Masr provides coverage of various issues related to the elections here. Villagers in Upper Egypt and the West Delta region have an old concern:
But as the discussion continued, people dropped the political jargon and their focus on “Egypt’s interests” faded away as they turned their attention to local issues. After his initial insistence on the importance of state institutions, Braik then defined the perfect parliamentarian as one who “gets the deed done.”
But what is the deed? And who can get it done?
For most Fayoum voters, “the deed” is getting access to water. Most villages in the governorate have suffered from a severe water shortage for months. They also want better infrastructure and more job opportunities, especially for young people.
People here agree on the key issues to be fixed, but their idea of who can “get it done” depends on their tribal and family affiliations.
I wonder if access to water may someday become a nationwide issue in the United States. Otherwise, it sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
