Egypt extends presidential poll by a day

Egypt's presidential election has been extended by one more day in an effort to boost low turnout that threatened to undermine the credibility of the vote likely to be won by the former army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The decision followed lower-than-expected turnout in the originally two-day vote that was due to end on Tuesday at 18GMT.

While the Egyptian government declared a national holiday for Tuesday in an effort to get voters to cast their ballots, an official with international monitoring group Global Network for Rights and Development reported that voter turnout was noticibly low.

"There was a high turnout yesterday [Monday] in the morning, about 12 percent by midday, but it decreased in the afternoon. Today there's very few people voting. The turnout is very low," the official said.

Voters have reportedly received text messages telling them they could be fined if they do not vote.

The vote, which began on Monday, pits Sisi against the left-wing candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, a former legislator and long-term Nasserist who came third in the 2012 election.

Sisi, who quit the army in March to run for president, led a coup that removed the nation's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, last July.

Sabahi's office complained early on Monday that police and soldiers were refusing his representatives access to polling stations.

In one case, detailed in an email to journalists, the Sabahi campaign claimed that lawyer Ahmed Hanafi Abu Zaid of the campaign's legal committee was "brutally beaten" and arrested after trying to mediate in a dispute with another campaign delegate.

"He was later transfered to a military prosecutor's office," the campaign said.

The Muslim Brotherhood, to which Morsi belongs, had instructed its followers to boycott the vote. Also boycotting the polls were many of the pro-democracy youths who participated in the 2011 uprising against former president Hosni Mubarak.

In a report issued on May 16, the US-based Carter Centre expressed concerns about "the restrictive political and legal context surrounding Egypt’s electoral process, the lack of a genuinely competitive campaign environment, and the deep political polarisation that threatens the country’s transition".

Dissidents in detention

Carter Centre representatives are among a number of international observers monitoring the polls, including the European Union.

Citing Human Rights Watch estimates, the Reuters news agency reported that the number of political dissidents and Islamists in detention in Egypt are more than 20,000.

The last year has been the bloodiest period of internal strife in Egypt's modern history, with hundred of Brotherhood supporters getting killed during protests while several hundred members of the security forces have also been killed by Islamists since last July.

The Brotherhood, declared a terrorist organisation by the state, has described the vote as "the election of the presidency of blood".

The government accuses the group of orchestrating violence - a charge it denies.

In the rural province of Fayoum, south of Cairo, and in the city of Alexandria, both places where Islamists have strong support, voter queues were short throughout Monday.

Many of those who opposed Sisi said the election lacked democratic credibility.

Sisi won 95 percent of votes cast in advance by Egyptians abroad, but an opinion poll by the Washington-based Pew Research Centre suggests a more mixed picture, with Sisi viewed favourably by 54 percent and unfavourably by 45 percent.

As Sisi voted in Cairo on Monday, he waved to supporters, who shouted "President, president!"

"Today Egyptians are going to write their history," said Sisi.

It is the second time Egyptians are electing a president in two years. And it is the seventh vote or referendum since 2011.

Presidency War in Egypt

Presidency competition in Egypt turned to be a war.Anyone is not supporting the military candidate is considered as a traitor.I made a lot of telephone calls to Marshal Sisi's campaign so as to meet the campaign spokesman ,media spokesman or any member of the campaign but in vain.the media coordinator said to me " Priority is given to local media and we will do our best later on to arrange an interview for you".
I decided to meet Sisi's supporters from the movements like Tamrod.Tamrod media spokesman said "Marshal Sisi is the man of this time and there are millions supporting him.He is the man who saved us from the Islamic Fascist".As for Tamrod division on supporting presidency candidates,there are 4 basic founders of   Tamrod where we have 3 of them supporting the other candidate , Hamdeen Sabahi who call himself revolution's candidate.Mohamed Nabawi ,Tamrod Sisi said only 3 supporting Hamdeen while millions supporting Sisi.
President of one of the parties that support Sisi when I asked him about the marshal program, said "Its enough for him to give an oath on the constitution ,as program is not important for people".
Member in Kamel Gemilk,popular campaign supporting Sisi,said " Hamdeen cant be presidency,he can only run for the Parliament".
Ambassador Massom Marzouk,media spokesman of the second candidate,Hamdeen sabahi ,said " Hamdeen is one from us and came to be January revolution candidate and we have a program for the Egyptians where bread,freedom and social justice is presented".
"I dont agree with the protest law as the revolution came to grant us the right to protest any time to oppress us ,so one of the priorities of Hamdeen is to cancel this law and release all the prisoners of conscience who are not accused of murder" ambassador Marzouk added.

Morsi trial postponed to Sunday

One of ousted president Mohamed Morsi’s trials Saturday was postponed to Sunday. The former Muslim Brotherhood leader, charged with inciting the killing of demonstrators, is standing trial with 14 other prominent Brotherhood and Islamist notables including Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Badie, Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) Chairman Saad Al-Katastny, ultraconservative preacher Wagdy Ghoneim, and senior FJP member Mohamed Al-Beltagy.

Saturday’s hearing, which was held at the Police Academy amid security concerns, was postponed to discuss witness testimonies, according to state-owned Al-Ahram. A screening of videos was scheduled, containing alleged footage of Brotherhood protesters tearing down tents of rival protesters and participating in the fatal clashes that ensued.

The video evidence also includes video of certain figures, including Ghoneim, allegedly inciting violence against the anti-Morsi demonstrators.

Morsi, who has been detained since his ouster last 3 July, is also currently being charged in three separate trials. He is being tried along with fellow Brotherhood members in a trial that the public prosecutor has called “the biggest case of espionage in the history of Egypt”, and faces a litany of charges alleging that the Brotherhood communicated with foreign entities in an effort to create chaos in Egypt.

The ousted president also stands trial with 130 other defendants for charges relating to the prison break at Wadi Al-Natroun on 28 January 2011.

In January, prosecution announced that Morsi and 25 others would be tried for allegedly insulting the judiciary. The case, which has not yet begun, includes a wide range of political and public figures including Brotherhood and FJP members, Salafi leaders, journalists, and non-Islamist politicians and activists.

Source:Daily news Egypt

'No sign' of Russian pullback from Ukraine

NATO has seen no sign that Russia is withdrawing troops from the Ukraine border and will look at all options to boost the alliance's defences, its secretary-general said.

"Unfortunately, I cannot confirm that Russia is withdrawing its troops. This is not what we are seeing," Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters at a meeting of NATO's members in Brussels, according to the Reuters news agency. 

Ministers from the 28 alliance members are meeting for the first time since Russia's military occupation and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region triggered the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War.

They will discuss ways to boost NATO's military presence in former communist central and eastern Europe to reassure allies rattled by Russia's moves.

Al Jazeera's Neave Barker, reporting from Brussels, said: "The relationship is at its lowest since the formation of the NATO-Russia Council in 2002, formed to boost unity on narcotics control and anti-terrorism technology.

"But according to NATO, those joint efforts are now on hold. The message coming from Brussels is that it's certainly no longer business as usual."

The meeting came as Russian energy giant Gazprom announced a more than 40 percent increase in the price of gas exports to Ukraine, scrapping a previous discount amid mounting strains between the two countries.

Ukraine will now pay a price of $385.5 per 1,000 cubic metres of gas, Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller said in a statement on Tuesday, raising the price from $268.5 per 1,000 cubic metres which was agreed in December.

Diplomats said the ministers in Brussels would consider options ranging from stepped-up military exercises and sending more forces to eastern member states to the permanent bases of alliance forces in those countries - a step Moscow would view as provocative.

Asked if NATO could station forces permanently in the small former Soviet Baltic states, Rasmussen said: "We are now considering all options to enhance our collective defence, including ... further development of our defence plans, enhanced exercises and also appropriate deployments."

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters as he arrived that he would welcome "some more prominent NATO presence in Poland".

Financial aid

Meanwhile, the European Union has decided to make a swift payment of financial aid to Ukraine, the bloc's economy chief Olli Rehn said, dismissing the possibility of economic sanctions against Russia unless it takes more action.

Rehn's comments on Tuesday offered the prospect of quick financial backing from Europe for Ukraine, which is grappling with increased gas prices.

The European Union has pledged $15bn (11 billion euros) as part of a package of support with the International Monetary Fund.

"It is in the interests of Ukraine and Europe to maintain peace and stability on our continent," Rehn told journalists on the sidelines of a meeting of European finance ministers in Athens.

He said the first payment would be "made swiftly", according to the Reuters news agency.

But while he underscored Brussels' desire to back Ukraine, he played down the idea of stiffer penalties on Russia following its annexation of the Ukraine's Crimea.

"As regards sanctions, no sensible European would want to see economic sanctions," he said, adding that none should be necessary if Moscow took no action.

"In case Russia would not escalate the crisis, then we should be able to avoid this sanctions," he said.

El-Sisi snapped cycling in Cairo

Days after ditching his army fatigues to run for president, former army chief Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has made his first public outing in some out-of-the-ordinary civilian attire.

Photos of the 59-year-old – who resigned as Egypt's army chief and defence minister last week to announce his intention to run for president – riding a bike, began circulating on social media on Sunday evening.

In one of the photos, reportedly snapped in Cairo, he appears wearing a navy tracksuit alongside two others cyclists – also in sports gear – with a bus and a microbus in the background. In other photos, El-Sisi stops to chat with passersby.

Twitter and other social networking sites were rife with comments both mocking and praising the images.

"The first president in the world to ride a bicycle and go among the public... because he knows everybody loves him," wrote one Facebook commenter.

El-Sisi has become a cult figure since he led the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in mid-2013 following millions-strong protests against his troubled year in power. He has been idolised by his supporters as the country's saviour and hailed by many as the only person capable of restoring order after more than three years of political turmoil since the 2011 uprising.

Many Twitter users shared screenshots showing the price of a Peugeot bicycle – the same brand as El-Sisi was riding – from the French firm's website.

"The bike's price turns out to be LE40,000 [roughly €4,000] and he is asking us for austerity," wrote one Twitter user, alluding to an address El-Sisi gave earlier in March asking Egyptians to tighten the belts to help rescue the country's ailing economy.

Peugeot bikes can fetch €300-4000, according to the website.

Fervent supporters of the former army chief were quick to defend him.

"Go Sisi go! You make them [your opponents] jealous," Another wrote. "The Field Marshal is riding Egypt's production 'wheel'... We love you Sisi," a third commented.

TV host Ahmed Moussa claimed El-Sisi went cycling alongside a private guard "without notifying any security authority," likening him to European leaders and contrasting this to the large processions "used to guard former president Morsi."

Others doubted the authenticity of the ride: "Which military camp was he snapped in? And from where did he get the extras? Honestly, I'm not convinced," said Ahmed Nagy, a 39 year-old taxi driver.

But cycling appears to be one of El-Sisi's hobbies.

The Washington Post reported last week that "a high-ranking military officer close to El-Sisi said the general often rides his bicycle around the defence ministry’s vast compound."

Last week, El-Sisi declared his much-anticipated candidacy in a presidential poll which he is tipped to win by a landslide.

Egyptians will vote in the first round on 26-27 May, the country's electoral committee announced on Sunday.

Britain orders probe into Muslim Brotherhood

British Prime Minister David Cameron has ordered an investigation into the Muslim Brotherhood over concerns that the group is planning radical activities in Britain, his Downing Street office revealed Tuesday.

Number Ten confirmed a report in The Times newspaper that said he had asked intelligence agencies to gather information on the "philosophy and activities" of the Brotherhood and its potential threat to the UK.

The government acted following reports that Brotherhood leaders had met in London last year to decide their response to the Egypt crisis, triggered when one of its leading members, Mohamed Morsi, was unseated as president, according to The Times.

The group has since been blamed by Cairo for orchestrating a campaign of violence.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "The prime minister has commissioned an internal government review into the philosophy and activities of the Muslim Brotherhood and the government's policy towards the organisation."

The review is being led by Britain's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia John Jenkins.

The Guardian newspaper reported the review would examine whether the group was connected to the killing of tourists in Egypt's Sinai in February.

Intelligence services MI5 and MI6 will investigate the group's activists inside and outside of Britain, The Times said.

It remains too early to judge whether Britain will follow in the footsteps of Egypt and Saudi Arabia who have both designated the Brotherhood a terrorist organisation. According to The Guardian, British officials say the move is "possible but unlikely."

The Guardian also quoted a Downing Street spokesperson as saying that "given the concerns about the group and its alleged links to violent extremism, it's absolutely right and prudent that we get a better handle of what the Brotherhood stands for, how they intend to achieve their aims and what that means for Britain."

Since Morsi's ouster from power, Egyptian security has conducted a crackdown on the Brotherhood and its supporters but has also faced a continuing spate of armed attacks by militant groups.

The Brotherhood has consistently denied any connections to the attacks, many of which were claimed by a group called Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis, an Al-Qaeda affiliate.

In one of the trials against him, Morsi – a Brotherhood member – is accused of speaking with Al-Qaeda leader Ayman El-Zawahiri during his term as president.

Farmer to serve prison time for naming donkey after Sisi

Omar Abul Maged, a 31-year-old farmer, never imagined he would one day be in prison for naming his donkey after the defense minister.

 

However, the Qena Misdemeanor Court has now sentenced him to a year over charges of “humiliating the military” for naming his donkey “Sisi,” after the recently resigned military chief Abdel Fatah al-Sisi who is due to run for presidential elections after overthrowing Egypt's first democratically elected president Morsy on 3 July.

 

Abdul Maged's satirical way of protesting against the military-led government began in 20 September 2013 when the pro-Morsy Abul Maged was riding his donkey through his village, called Ashraf in Qena province, covering the donkey’s body with a poster of al-Sisi and putting a military-style cap over the donkey’s head. 

 

The police, when notified of this act from anti-Morsy villagers, arrested Abul Maged along with his donkey and after six months in custody, the court issued its verdict on Sunday.

 

The court decision serves as a reminder of the intensified crackdown on government dissenters. 

 

Abul Maged's arrest in September coincided with the detention of eight activists for spraying anti-military graffiti as well as the cancelation of Bassem Yossef’s satirical show after it indirectly ridiculed the military in the first episode following military takeover in July. 

 

The judiciary's tough penalties against government dissenters culminated on Monday of last week as a criminal court sentenced 529 Muslim Brotherhood defendants to death in the largest capital punishment on record in Egypt’s modern history which raised both local and international outcry.

 

Though lawyers highly expect the verdict to be dropped before the Court of Appeals, human rights groups lashed back at the severity of the verdict as “it raises doubts about the fairness of the judiciary system in Egypt,” said a statement by Andalus Center for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies.

 

“The heavy-handed crackdown on any opponent voices will not end the game for one side but will rather ignite the political situation further and keep the economy down,” said Ahmad El-Sayed, a political activist.  

 

Recently, the anti-Sisi comments on social media have rapidly resurged as the only outlet to slam the new presidential runner, safe from the military’s heavy-handed tactics against street protests. 

 

The strongman’s opponents voiced their protest via Twitter using the sarcastic hashtag in Arabic “Intekhbo al-Ars,” which translates to “Vote for the pimp,” in response al-Sisi's televised speech four days ago, expressing his intention to run for presidency, which contradted his spokesperson’s statement last September when he said al-Sisi had no intention to run for president. 

 

Though Adul-Maged's physical arrest was an easy attempt to reign in government dissent, authorities have merely given more fodder for criticism to users of Twitter and Facebook.

 

“From now on ridiculing Sisi is not an insult to the military institution, as he resigned, insulting him is a national duty,” Salama Abdul Hamid tweeted.