According to the National Elections Authority (NEA) in Egypt, over 50 million Egyptian voters are set to face the country’s Public Prosecutor and potentially pay a fine, following their refusal to participate in the recently concluded Senatorial elections.
A decision that has drawn criticism, the NEA revealed that only 14.2 per cent of Egypt’s nearly 63 million registered voters turned up to cast their votes in the Senate elections, which took place from the 11th – 12th of August, 2020, despite voting being held amid strict measures aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus among voters, election officers and observers.
The commission’s head, Ibrahim Lashin had previously called on voters to show up at the polls as stringent measures had been set in place in response to the coronavirus. Now, he revealed that the commission was in the process of compiling a list containing the information of 53 million non-voters for the public prosecution office, where they will pay a fine of 500 Egyptian pounds.
“The commission repeatedly stressed the necessity of going to polls. But some voters were lax and did not do their national duty in participation,” it added in a statement.
What does the Law in Egypt Say?
According to Article 57 of the Law on Exercising Political Rights decree No. 45 in 2014, anyone who fails to participate in the elections will be punished with a fine equivalent to 500 Egyptian pounds.
However, the aforementioned law contradicts Article 65 of the Egyptian constitution issued in 2014, which stipulates: “Freedom of thought and opinion is guaranteed. Every person has the right to express his opinion in speech, writing, photography, or other means of expression and publication.”
Senate is a New Development
Egypt’s House of Representatives had on June 17, 2020, approved a law establishing a senate, which will function as the upper house of parliament. This came after the Senate was scrapped in 2014. The law scaled through with a two-thirds majority, with the objection of four MPs.
The Senate in Egypt will consist of 300 members, 100 of whom are elected by a closed list system, 100 elected by an individual system, and 100 members appointed by the President of the Republic.
