Every time elections are held in Egypt, all parties concerned express their desire for them to take place in a normal climate, to produce results which express the will of voters, and to be free of interferences, acts of bullying, violations that would bring them harm, or measures that would increase the despair of citizens and make voters think a thousand times before forming the resolve to leave their home or workplace and head to the polling station to vote. And every time elections are held in Egypt, such hopes are shattered, dreams such as these fade away, and the day turns into a nightmare for everyone. The same scenes of the same behavior repeat themselves, and the elections produce results over which political forces and the majority of citizens shed doubt, and which only a few are able to defend. In the same vein, the midterm renewal elections of the Shura Council were held two days ago. And despite the fact that 13 political parties put forward candidates to compete over the seats, in addition to the Muslim Brotherhood's candidates, the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) obtained the majority as usual. Indeed, the party competed over all the seats, and in some districts the competition took place between NDP candidates and others who were also members of the party, but who waged the elections as independents. Meanwhile, the candidacies put forward by other parties remained symbolic or were merely meant to prove that they exist. Nonetheless, the day of voting was not devoid of the same events that have occurred at all past elections: arguments, quarrels, fights, beatings, destruction, assaults and accusations of rigging the elections in favor of ruling party candidates and of harassing the civil society organizations that sought to monitor the electoral process and detect violations. Everyone in Egypt had imagined that the Shura Coucil elections would be a “rehearsal” for the important People's Assembly elections scheduled before the end of this year, but the events that took place on Tuesday have proven that the situation could go out of control, that is if the “rehearsal” does not turn into a reality on the Egyptian political stage. Indeed, one cannot conceal the tremendous difference between the limited interest in the Shura Council elections and the massive interest in the People's Assembly elections for well-known reasons. It seems that political culture is gravely lacking for most of the active parties concerned with the elections, including those parties that supervise or organize them, as well as the employees from state administrations who are in charge of supervising the voting of citizens within polling stations. Indeed, the feeling prevails among them that they should facilitate the task of NDP candidates, since it is the government's party, leading to behavior that brings harm to the elections. The picture did not seem rosy on the day of voting in the Shura Council elections, as all had wished, but the most negative aspect of that day was that it increased fears towards what could happen during the People's Assembly elections, with only a few months remaining before they are held. And if all parties, and most prominently the government and the ruling party, fail to implement the measures that ensure the fairness of the elections, afford all those participating in them equal chances, and grant civil society organizations, especially Egyptian ones, the right to monitor the progress of the electoral process, then Egypt is headed towards a day that might turn into a tragedy. Indeed, the opposition, in spite of its state of despair, seems insistent on clinging to the gains it has achieved, and the NDP does not seem willing to relinquish any seats in Parliament. And between the opposition's ambition and the ruling party's excess in seeking to take hold of parliament seats, fears remain standing.
