Human-rights report criticizes Egyptian election

[struggle4progress]

BY CHRISTINE SPOLAR
Chicago Tribune

CAIRO, Egypt - (KRT) - <snip>

The report published by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights questioned the process that kept some challengers off the ballot and allowed state agencies - particularly the Presidential Election Commission and the Interior Ministry - to create conditions favoring Mubarak's National Democratic Party.

The Interior Ministry supplied faulty voter lists that were impossible to verify or change on election day Wednesday, the report said. The election commission, a 10-member panel made up of judges and parliament-backed appointees, "was one of the major obstacles to a free and fair election," the report said.

The election commission remains deeply flawed because its decisions are not subject to any kind of judicial appeal, the report said. The report calls for the formation of a national committee to review the constitution and election requirements.

The report also calls for an end to Egypt's emergency laws, instituted for decades, that allow the state to jail people indefinitely without trial if they are suspected of undermining state security. <snip>

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