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Presidential Elections in Egypt: Refusal to Issue Endorsements Persists Alongside Physical Assaults

Berlin, September 30, 2023

Today, the Law and Democracy Support Foundation documented the ongoing refusal of 21 Notary’s offices in 9 governorates to issue endorsements for potential presidential candidate Ahmed El-Tantawy. Simultaneously, they facilitated the issuance of endorsements for the current president. Complaints monitored by the foundation’s research team indicated the recurrence of this behavior in various areas of Egypt.

The foundation also documented attacks on supporters of potential candidate Ahmed El-Tantawy by supporters of the current president in Egypt. These attacks involved the use of violence and threats to compel El-Tantawy’s supporters to leave the vicinity of the Notary’s offices and prevent them from issuing endorsements for El-Tantawy.

These attacks included physical assault, the destruction of national ID cards, threats of arrest, as well as an incident where one of El-Tantawy’s campaign coordinators in front of a Notary’s office in Hadaeq El-Qobba was assaulted, and his phone was searched without legal justification. Some of El-Tantawy’s supporters were also coerced into issuing endorsements for the current president or faced fabricated criminal charges against them.

The foundation’s researchers relied on direct interviews with victims of the violations and collected information through the form published on the foundation’s page via social media networks.

The monitoring unfolded as follows:

1- Refusal to Issue Endorsements in Notary’s Offices in Cairo and Other Governorates:

The foundation documented the refusal of nine Notary’s offices in Cairo governorate to issue endorsements for potential candidate Ahmed El-Tantawy. These offices include: “First and second Nasr City, El-Shorouk, Mohandessin, Hadaeq El-Qobba, Giza, Rehab, Nuzha, Basateen, and Matariya”. In contrast, supporters of the current president were allowed to submit endorsements.

Similar refusal cases were observed in eight governorates outside Cairo, including Alexandria, Gharbia, Beni Suef, Monufia, Minya, Sharqia, Kafr El-Sheikh, and Dakahlia.

2- Assault on Supporters of Potential Candidate Ahmed El-Tantawy:

The foundation reported the continuation of violence and assaults by supporters of the current president against El-Tantawy’s supporters in various Egyptian governorates, including Cairo.

Incidents of assault were documented in areas like Rod El-Farag, El-Shorouk, and Mohandessin in Cairo, where El-Tantawy’s supporters were forcibly prevented from issuing endorsements.

Additionally, a Notary’s office on Murad Street in Giza was closed, and El-Tantawy’s supporters were intimidated and prevented from issuing endorsements.

In Hadaeq El-Qobba Notary’s office, security personnel in civilian clothes assaulted one of El-Tantawy’s campaign coordinators, seized his phone by force, and deleted videos he had filmed to document the situation, preventing him and another group from issuing endorsements.

In Sharqia governorate, at Zagazig Notary’s office, a citizen’s national ID card was broken, and he was forced to issue an endorsement for Sisi. Another individual was also assaulted. In the same context, in the notary’s office in Tenth of Ramadan City in the same governorate, a supporter of El-Tantawy was detained and threatened. Additionally, another supporter was assaulted by Sisi’s supporters, and the head of the Notary’s office service at the same office obstinately refused to issue endorsements.

In the Gharbia governorate, in front of the Notary’s office affiliated with Kafr El-Zayat, El-Tantawy’s supporters were assaulted with insults.

In Kafr El-Sheikh governorate, at Desouk Notary’s office, threats and assaults on El-Tantawy’s supporters were documented, with attempts to force them to issue a proxy for Sisi and threats of fabricating criminal charges against them.

According to Egyptian law, presidential candidates must secure endorsements from 20 MPs or 25,000 registered voters across at least 15 governorates, with a minimum of 1,000 endorsements from each governorate.

To report a violation click the following link: bit.ly/3RBqg57