مركز ماعت للدراسات الحقوقية والدستورية

Report about the Referendum on the Constitutional Amendments' Day.

Cairo, 29\03\2007.

ON 26\03\2007 Egypt entered a historical way proves the deterioration of the   constitutional life in Egypt .It was after the Peoples' Assembly ratified the constitutional amendments which were suggested and passed by the National party alone among a complete neglecting to the opposition of all national and public forces .These amendments give the republic president authorities more than what was stated, also its formation make the real judicial supervision on the election process void. This is in addition to what it contains about combating terrorism in a formation regarded as a violation of rights and freedoms that the Egyptian constitution asserts its respect in its third chapter, which contrasted with all international agreements that was signed by Egypt and that care about activating and supporting respect of rights and freedoms.

The public abstention from participating in the referendum asserted these amendments illegality and the procedures after it, which leads many national forces to adopt the abstention choice.

Many primary reports of the civil community organizations confirmed that the participation percentage was between 2% and 3% ,this is different from what Mr. Anas Elfeeqy, the minister of information     mentioned that the participation percentage formed 27.23 % which comes in the frame of the government's marketing for these amendments ,he also declared that the participation in Cairo reached 20%,El Giza 21%,Alexandrea 24%,Qalupia 7%,Matrooh 23%,Kafr El Sheikh 35%,Gharbiaa 20%,Monofia 20%,Dakahlia 15%, Sharqia 25%,Dametta21%,while El Esmaelia governorate recorded high participation percentage between 55%to 66%.

Among the security bodies huge fear about the opposition forces movements on this day and in assertion of what is contained in the ratified constitutional amendments of the concept of the police state, the referendum day witnessed an intensified security existing in mid Cairo which was surrounded with an intensified security blockade. On this day the central security men distributed in El Tahreer square and Ramses street in formal and informal uniform in account for any demonstrations that may blast specially in front of El Tahreer Collection, the matter which reached to the frisking of the Collection visitors in this day, prohibiting the sitting on coffees and closing the shops which cause a complete stop of this square .The security forces applied the same procedures in many other places such as El Doqee quarter.

In this frame, the security forces arrested about fifty members of Kefaia movement according to what the movement's coordinator, George Ishac, said. Dr. Gamal Zahran ,the head of the Independent Deputies, asserted that five persons affiliated to the Muslim Brothers were arrested the evening of the referendum day while they were distributing pamphlets call for abstaining the referendum in Shobra Elkhema electoral district ,the second part .

The day of referendum witnessed a condition of public dissatisfaction as a result of the insistence to pass these amendments, which lead a lot of the national forces to went to the Egyptian streets and organized demonstrations .Some of Kefaia movement members lead a demonstration in front of Journalists' Syndicate which was ended with fighting with the security forces and arresting number of Kefaia movement members. In addition ,the Bar Association organized a protest stop against the constitutional amendments , the Bar Association's council participated in this stop ,also Mr Samih Ashoor ,the Bar Association's chief asserted that these constitutional amendments do not express the citizen's will , do not achieve any benefit for them and size their freedoms . In Helwan University the student of Muslim Brothers, the Communists, and the revolutionaries held a demonstration and repeat cries calling the university's employee and the student for abstain the referendum .In Alexandria consolation for the constitution was established in front of Elhaqania court in El Manshia.

In addition, the referendum process it self was followed by many violations, firstly in the arena of the election propaganda the war of pamphlets and signs blasted between the National Party and the opposition ,at the time while the reports of the national forces called for the participation in the referendum ,in El Behera the group of Muslim Brothers distributed a pamphlet headed "Oh, The Misleader " contained some paragraphs of Magdy Mehana's article that was published in The Egyptian Today "El Masry Al Yoom" newspaper ,also Al Tagamaa , Al Nasery ,Al amaal, and Al Ghad party called in a common release for abstaining the referendum .They asserted that the suggested amendments gave the president the right of lifetime ruling, it pave way to bequest, freedoms violations and that it represents a threat of nation's security and settlement. They also asserted that these amendments detect trailing civilians before military courts, and delete judicial supervision on elections.

Bar Association also issued a report in which it recorded its rejection of the manner these amendments were done, this report called for establishing a Constituent Assembly tacks the responsibility of examining all political trends, the party and independent ones, then it can play its role in forming such amendments and offer it to people in a public referendum in which they vote the articles one by one.

On the other hand the National Party's deputies in many governorates initiated to urge people to go to the voting places and to agree on the suggested amendments ,for example in El Behera the deputy Aadel Shaalan ,the peoples Assembly's member put signs "Yes to the constitutional amendments ",also general Ali Alnagar ,the Shora council candidate in Damanhor center and country and in Almahmodia ,write signs carry the slogan of "Your Voice is a Trust ….. Saying Your Opinion is a National Duty ".

   The matter was not just put signs but it exceeded this to the extend that some of the National Party's supporters put microphones on cars and wandered in some governorates' streets to urge people to participate in the referendum ,as what was happened in one of Helwan's electoral districts in which some of the candidates in the coming Shora Council elections of this circle, who were care to announce their supportive situation of the amendments ,used heavy cars with microphones and huge signs in which they wrote their names and wandered in the streets to urge the resident to agree on the amendments . Also in an utmost violation of law, some of the National Party's members put signs on some referendum places as happened in some electoral distraction in Gharbia and Alexandria governorates in which signs supporting the constitutional amendments were noticed carrying the slogan of "Yes to the Referendum".

Yet, violations in the referendum process was a lot, as witnesses recorded many violations started with blacken the voting paper in most electoral districts ,as happened in one of Asyoot governorate electoral district ,in Al Dakahlia governorate and Dametta .Also the common vote phenomenon, as some of the National Party collected buses of employees and transported them to the sessions headquarters , as it was happened in Alzaher electoral district while its deputy ,Hany Sorrowr ,gathered the workers in his factory and transported them to the referendum headquarters to vote . This phenomenon repeated in many electoral districts of which Helwan electoral district, Gizza, South Sinai and Ismailia, the matter that explain the high participation rates after three o'clock, pm.

As for the briberies arena, this referendum witnessed many cases in many electoral districts where the briberies took different shapes, for example money, food supplies, meals, blankets, and Almawled sweets. While the vote's price in Al Haggana country estate reached two LE and rice bag, it was in Aziz country estate in Imbaba ten LE.

Many reports detected a strange phenomenon which was that the vote boxes were filled in an early time which did not exceed little hours after the referendum beginning although these committees were empty of any voters as happened in committee 48 in Dar El Salam and one of Helwan's electoral districts .In addition to other violations such as what was detected of not using the phosphoric ink and voting out side blankets beside the errors in lists.

     On the arena of the judicial supervision, the Following Realities' committee constituted in the judges club to supervise the referendum said that, the judges, the committees' heads, were prevented from the direct follow and from supervise the subcommittees affiliated to them to become aware of the referendum process and to know the problems and abstracts, also the Following Realities' committee detected that another judges were changed through the chairmanship of the public committees before the referendum or within it although reports were issued to assigned them really to supervise these committees. This situation was happened with the counselor, the chairman of the eighth electoral district in Quesna Al Dakahlia governorate, who was prevented from following the subcommittees affiliated to him when the court chief phoned him and asked him to stay in the headquarter of his committee but the counselor refused completely and leave the work and the public committee to his home, the matter that dissatisfy the judges. In this frame we can explain that the subcommittees were void of any judicial supervision in most electoral districts.

The manner in which this referendum was done, the 34 article altogether, regarded more dangerous than the violations in this referendum especially because it contrasted with constitutional traditions. How the voter can read all these amendments once carefully, which regarded as an intention to absent the voter's will .Even the final formation of these amendments did not announced to people enough time before the referendum date to enable people to study them and to generate its vision .This role was the mass media's one but the government passed it ,and the result was a case of ignorance between citizens, about these amendments' reality which forms a clear violation to international charters concerned with deepening the value of political participation.

The referendum ended among clear public abstention which the official reports could not deny, the official signals recorded that the participation percentage did not exceed 27.23%. After this the general electoral committee issued its report to confirm that the result is the acceptance of the constitutional amendments with a percentage that exceed 75% a little according to the official reports, which means that the file of these amendments was locked totally for the benefit of their supporters in spit of the illegality of these amendments as a whole started from that the National Party suggested them alone ,and forcing all national parties and people to accept them through passing under legal cover ,on one hand because the national party has the parliament's majority, and on the other because the execution authority supporting it has authorities enable it to constrain people's will, which was clear in the terrorism the security men practiced on those who oppose the amendments and preventing them from their right to demonstrate and express their opinions.

Lastly, this illegality was covered with what rich class owns of money and power by which they can yielded people in front of the poor case which became the real express of the status of most of this country's sons, this can explain the electoral bribery phenomenon in this referendum.

Under the hopelessness of change ability ,the picture of this referendum became an empty committees, employees ordered by their heads to form the Egyptian future may be for generations ,security barricades surround this country's streets under the pretext of keeping security , dissenters under detention ,and empty streets except of those who want to decorate the picture even with false .

Sir President, where is the reform in this scene!?



   Maat for juridical and constitutional studies

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