Mubarak Opponents Take to Streets

11/09/2005| IslamWeb

Demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest election results and opposition candidates have alleged fraud after Hosni Mubarak was declared victor in Egypt's first contested parliamentary elections. 

Egyptian opposition groups staged a demonstration on Saturday, charging that a low turnout gave President Mubarak no legitimacy to govern the country.

Some 400 demonstrators marched in downtown Cairo, chanting anti-Mubarak slogans and waving banners.

The demonstration, which comes a day after the official results were announced, was led by groups such as the Marxist Tagammu and the Kefaya (Enough) movement which boycotted the country's first open vote.

Election runner-up al-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party leader Ayman Nour also made an appearance as he sought to consolidate his image as leader of the opposition.

Fraud accusations

US-Egyptian sociologist and rights activist Saadeddin Ibrahim, whose organisation took part in monitoring the vote, condemned "fraud and falsification" during the polling process.

Forced voting, paid voters, unmanned polling stations, missing indelible ink and the use of public transport to ferry voters to polling stations were some of the accusations leveled against Mubarak supporters on election day.

But the electoral commission was satisfied with the polling process and many observers, while acknowledging some irregularities.

Nour clinched second place with 7.6% in Wednesday's elections but challenged the results, saying he had secured four times as many votes.

Wafd Party chairman Numan Gumaa, who came third with about 3%, also accused the government of having tampered with the results but was in a less combative mood.

But he stressed the low turnout proved that "the Egyptian people do not trust the regime".

The 6.3 million people who cast their ballot in Mubarak's favour represent just 8.6% of Egypt's overall population.

Observers said the low turnout would harm Mubarak's legitimacy and represented a general disaffection with a government which has been in place for a quarter of a century.

PHOTO CAPTION

A man reads a newspaper featuring a picture of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. (AFP)