Egypt election officials 'ordered ballot stuffing' during presidential polls to bolster turnout

Egyptian electoral officials ordered staff at regional polling stations to stuff ballot boxes during last week's controversial presidential election, judicial sources have said.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

05 April, 2018

Egyptian authorities went to great lengths to bolster turnout [Getty]

Egyptian electoral officials ordered staff at regional polling stations to stuff ballot boxes during last week's controversial presidential election, judicial sources have said.

The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told The New Arab on Wednesday that National Elections Commission authorities gave the orders in a bid to boost voter turnout.

"Election commission officials gave oral instructions to the heads of polling stations that the number of voters in governorates should not be fewer than 950," the sources said.

They said an unspecified extra amount was ordered to be added at stations that exceeded 1,000 voters.

The sources said the heads of some local polling stations came under pressure from subordinates to reject the orders to deposit extra ballots.

"Quite a few officials refused to take part in the vote rigging and insisted on announcing the correct results," they added.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi won a second, four-year term in office, with more than 97 percent of the vote in last week's election, according to official results announced on Monday, which put turnout at 41 percent.

Egyptian authorities went to great lengths to bolster turnout in a bid to give the virtual one-horse election legitimacy.

Provincial governors and other officials promised incentives and financial rewards, and in some cases resorted to threats to get people to the polls.

Authorities threatened fines of around $30 for anyone boycotting the election, but similar warnings have been made in the past without being widely enforced.

Egypt's media regulator has made efforts to censor widespread reports of electoral fraud in local and international media.

Egyptian police raided local news website Masr al-Arabia and detained its editor-in-chief on Tuesday after it published a report that said Egyptians were taking part in the vote for bribes as little as $3.

Sisi faced no serious challenger in the March 26-28 vote, after a string of potentially strong candidates withdrew under pressure or were arrested.

His sole opponent, little-known politician Moussa Mustafa Moussa, was a supporter of the president who made no effort to challenge him.