This cooperation comes second after the conclusion of three rounds of field examination in which the researchers have produced their auto-ethnographic field study of the voting behavior of Egyptians during the parliamentary elections.

The focal concern of these research papers, going to be presented, is to use local perspective in understanding the differences brought about the voting attitude of Egyptians before and after the revolution. Comparing the given assumptions that was developed on Egyptians’ voting practice and comparing this to the tremendous changes that were introduced to the Egyptian nation during the revolution is the edge on which this research stands unique.

The purpose of the project is to produce clear and well-documented descriptions of the recent political history of an electoral constituency, and the electoral processes that follow after the introduction of free and democratic elections, and a new electoral law.

It also aims at disseminating the knowledge gained, in order to secure that it is available to the public.

The components of the project include:

a)     Research by the main researcher (HC Korsholm Nielsen) in Aswan governorate, concerning the upcoming elections, the social, cultural, and political background of the election processes.

b)    Research by the seven assistant researchers, students from the departments of sociology from a number of national Egyptian universities (Cairo, Ain Shams, South Valley (Qena)), who have been trained in qualitative research and anthropological research methods by the main researcher. The assistant researchers have done field work in selected constituencies during two periods. The research of the first period focusing on the history or culture of election in the selected constituency and the second focusing on the actual elections and the introduction of new parties into the constituencies. Each period of field research is scheduled to two weeks.

The Global Citizen project is supposed to be fulfilled by the collaboration on themes related to the school-curriculum, focusing on engagement, democratic participation, new social media and critical thinking.

The aim of this project is to enhance Egyptian and Danish dialogue and learning regardless of their political leanings, religious affiliation and geographical location, share or differ in their core values and by that prepare them to citizens in a globalized world.

Activities of the project include three study tours to Cairo and Copenhagen in 2011 and 2012 for principal and teachers, to plan the long-term collaboration, and two exchange tours (one week each) in 2013 for 25-30 students of the involved schools.

A final conference for all partner-schools will take place in Copenhagen to evaluate the project and to start new initiatives.

Partners

Rysensteen Gymnasium

Nermin Ismail School (NIS)

Inspired by the Danish Photo Marathon, and built upon the success of the Cairo Photo Marathon 2011, the event ran on April 14, 2012 in 3 cities simultaneously for two phases of 6 and 12 hours. Partner cities were Ismailia, Alexandria and Cairo. All participants commenced the marathon from the same platform in the respective cities, where they were given the task to interpret a set of themes revolving around the notions of Leadership, Decision-Making, and Co-Existence.

Themes were disseminated in Arabic. English-language contextual elaborations and interpretations are made available on www.egyptphotomarathon.com

On May 20,2012, the Cairo Image Collective CIC hosts the Egypt Photo Marathon 2012 exhibition. This exhibition will showcase the results, whose themes revolve around the notions of Leadership, Decision-Making, and Co-Existence.

click  www.egyptphotomarathon.com for more information.

The Egypt and Elections project has launched its second phase as a continuation to the first phase, which took place over the past year.  The second phase is planned to stretch until Dec.31, 2012.

Goals of Egypt and Elections’ phase 2 includes informing the public and the presidential campaigns about the public opinion regarding the presidential elections, informing the parties and the public about the constitution building process and supporting the political parties’ organizational capacity building efforts.

Objectives of Egypt and Election’s second phase are:

- Explaining voting behavior in the People’s Assemble elections through:

• Conducting a presidential survey including post-election national voter survey on the topic of voting behavior

• Releasing a report in English and Arabic summing up the pre-and post elections surveys on voting behavior

• Organizing a conference/debate in Cairo on voting behavior in the People’s Assembly elections

• Producing 4-5 research papers with international experts resulting in a similar number of conference where the papers are presented

• Conducting an anthropological study and book on voting behavior in the People’s Assembly elections and Shura Council elections in rural Egypt.

-  Offering knowledge of other transition experiences from different parts of the world as a reservoir of lessons to be used by Egyptian parties through:

• Releasing a report outlining transition experiences in at lease 5 countries covering different parts of the world (Indonesia, Turkey, South Africa, Chile and Serbia)

-  Informing the public and the presidential campaigns about the public opinion regarding the presidential elections through:

• Reporting in newspapers in English and Arabic on the presidential elections

• Conducting two national voter surveys on the topics relevant to the parties as well as the public at large in relation to the presidential elections

• Organizing two conferences/debates on the presidential elections

- Informing the parties about expectations for the constitution building process through:

- Conducting a voter survey focusing on the elites expectations to the constitutional process and the content of the constitution.

- Reporting in newspaper on the elites expectations to the constitution

- Supporting the political parties in building sustainable party organizations through;

- Assisting political parties in conducting an organizational review to address organizational challenges.

The third phase of ANDP is structured of four main components; many of those are activities to be held in Egypt and a number of selected countries in the Middle East. The ANDP’s goal is to encourage the independent press to play an essential role in safeguarding democracy.

However, the specific objective of the project is to promote professionalism in the media sector, thus long term sustainability and the ability of media houses to provide independent news and non-biased information services as well as to provide the platforms for open public debate on policy processes, good governance and transparency.

The project components are:

1. ANDP commercial and Business Development: Identify new strategic development opportunities, revenue streams and encourage business capacity building of up to ten selected media outlets in Egypt.

1. ANDP New Project Development: Assist small to medium sized newspapers and online publishers to develop new and improve their existing products, which offer improved content and interactivity to audiences

1. ANDP Skills Development: Offers appropriate technical training, consultancies and support for media professionals to be able to successfully implement first and second components. These would potentially include training and skills development in management, advertising sales, design and layout, web platforms, mobile platforms, photo journalism and investigative journalism.

1. Peer to Peer Knowledge Transfer: Transfer the Knowledge and experiences from Egypt to new partners in the MENA region and work with the existing ANDP partners to encourage skill sharing and knowledge exchange from phase 1 and 2 of the program.

The initiative aims at stimulating stronger social engagement in human rights, social justice and other contemporary socio-political issues in Egypt by involving artists, cultural activists and intellectuals in meetings, seminars and workshops that will lead to a range of arts products presented to a wider public of schools, CSOs and informal associations. It further aims to promote core democratic values such as freedom of expression, tolerance, dialogue, reconciliation, reaching of consensus, peaceful negotiation, critical reflection, creative thinking, doubts, questioning, etc. as a basis for civil society visions and discussions regarding a post-revolutionary Egyptian society.

The workshops will involve external guest speakers and resource persons and contain open debates, arguments and analyses between the participants and thus contribute to consensus building and establishing joint visions among civil society practitioners and organisations.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact Muna Bur at mb@dedi.org.eg

The Danish Egyptian Dialogue Institute (DEDI) along with Mahatat, a multi-cultural mobile art space founded in 2011 by five individuals from different national and professional backgrounds, are partnering to launch “Shawer3na” project in an effort to support freedom of artistic expression.

Shaware3na will take place in the streets of Cairo and around popular street institutions such as local coffee shops, famous buildings and yards and the Cairo metro. It should start on January 18^th until June 23^rd 2012.

The project goals are formulated to establish arts in public space, increase awareness by citizens about arts in public space, further acceptance and interest in public space events by citizens and develop networks between artists, cultural entities and citizens.

Activities of the project include the following:

• Art of Transit: literary and comedic one-man/one-woman performances in wagons of both lines of the Cairo metro;

• Public Screen: A number of public screenings of film and video art

• Stop and Dance: an inter-cultural contemporary dance project. Egyptian and international established dancers are holding a workshop for young Egyptian dancers to introduce them to contemporary dance and performance in public space;

Performance timeframe: April 1 – 15, 2012

For more information about the performances, please email info@mahatatcollective.com

• The Tree Project: a participatory art project that takes place in Dokki. Residents and artists will work together on artistic designs for the trees of the neighborhood. The material will range from eco-friendly paint over cloth to light and sound.

The concept of a “welfare state” refers to a government where the state plays the primary role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens.

In the Nordic model system, which refers to the economic and social models of the Nordic countries, the welfare state involves a direct transfer of funds from the state, to the services provided as well as directly to individuals (benefits). The welfare state is funded through redistributionist taxation and has been referred to as a type of “mixed economy”.

This Nordic Model, promoting mixed economy and social justice, will be of an extremely important added value to the new Egyptian political parties, seeking to build their electoral programs on a similar basis, respecting both basic social and economic rights of the citizens, and a market economy with a robust social control.

The project’s team includes, the DEDI program officer, one senior researcher and four young researchers, constituting the mixed perspectives existing in egyptian political ideologies and include the following, Liberalism, Leftism, Political Islam and Centrist thought.

The project will include a two-day workshop and a study visit to Denmark and Germany with an objective will be to hold a series of meeting with governmental officials, political party representatives and civil society organizations.

The project team will also be asked to write 10 policy recommendation papers on the experience in Germany and Denmark, and to put this experience in the Egyptian context.  The papers will explore topics of welfare state such as the economy and the market system, social system, health rights, education rights, housing rights, property rights including land and land reform, local governance and access to information.

The project’s output will also include 10 to 20 short three-minute video interviews covering the most important findings and analysis of the study trip.

The De-radicalization Conference

Summary of Nile Life talk Show Coverage

- The coverage was mainly a long recorded interview with ex- extremist Hanif Qadir. At the Nile life live studio they hosted Fouad Allam former head of The National State Security Investigation Unit in Egypt to speak about the conference and to comment on Qadir’s interview.

- It is notable that the conference was referred to as a conference that was held last week in Egypt , but there was no mention of the Danish Egyptian Dialogue Institute as the organizing body.

- The segment was rather long, more than half an hour.

Fouad Allam comments:

• He started by highly praising the way the conference ( the anonymous conference) was organized, especially that many Egyptian researchers and experts were invited along European experts to exchange ideas.

• He criticized the European miss-conceptions about Islam and the fact that “Islam is seen as a religion that calls for violence and terrorism to the extent that the Danish official who is highly positioned said this outright , noting that they pay close attention to Islamic Military Militias.”

• He also said that during the conference he called for the creation of an international body where representatives from different countries would meet regularly to exchange ideas and information and where Egyptian and Arab experts work hand in hand with Europeans and Americans. This should help all parties to understand the cultural context better and to have a better insight on how to handle the different issues.

• Allam stressed again the importance of the conference, noting that the security intervention should come last contrary to what is actually happening where it comes first. Countries, according to Allam should first deal with the political, social and economic factors before resorting to the security side.

Hanif Qadir’s interview

• • In the interview Hanif recounted at length his own experience with al Qaeda, what lured him to join them, noting that it was not Islam as much as anger at the western forces who were massively killing his countrymen. He then recounted how he felt shocked latter on at the fact that the Qaeda used 12 and 15 years old children as human shields to protect their own fighters.

  • In an answer to a question about el Zawahry and Ben Laden, Hanif said that he has no idea where they could be now. He also expressed some doubt that Ben laden is still alive, he said “ I am not sure that Ben laden is still alive or is being made to stay alive by the West so that the operations could continue in Afghanistan ‘Allah Alam’ ( God knows), I do not know.”

  • Fouad Allam commented on the interview noting that Hanif was most probably not making part of al Qaeda network, he might have been used for some limited jobs. In order for groups like al Qaeda to open up to new members and to have them join their networks and be active members they need to demonstrate strong allegiance and firm conviction in the Jihadi believes and the course of action that they are advocating, which does not apply to Hanif.

Denmark is Prone to Terror Attacks More Than Switzerland

http://www.shorouknews.com/ContentData.aspx?id=159310

By Ahmed Atteya

Friday 4/12/2009

«In recent years, Denmark is becoming  increasingly vulnerable to terrorist attacks»

says Anja Dalgaard-Nielsen, The head of the Section for Preventive Security under the Danish Police Intelligence Service, in a  short lecture yesterday during a conference about “De-radicalization and the working mechanisms for non-violence”, organized by the Danish Egyptian Dialogue Institute.

The increase in Denmark’s vulnerability, according to Nielsen, goes back to the time when the country  decided in 2003 to contribute to the forces of the international coalition during the Iraq war, then the threats increased even more, according to Nielsen, after the publication of the Danish Cartoons in Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

In the aftermath of the cartoons that were seen as an act of abuse of the Profit Muhammad ( peace be upon him) The painters received threats of death. This is why some Danish newspapers in 2008 re-published the cartoons to declare their support for freedom of thought and of the  painters. This recurring reference to the cartoons according to Nielsen «was very dangerous as it implied being directly threatened by al-Qaeda ». Immediately after the republication the terrorist organization claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing of the Danish Embassy in Pakistan.

In response to a question by el Shorouk newspaper about whether there were a potential increase in terrorist  threats after a rightist  wing call in the Danish Parliament for a referendum around the construction  of  minarets on the land of the Kingdom, Nielsen replied that  the Danish parliament is more likely to leave the question of allowing the building of minarets to the local authorities and the municipality.

Notably, the local council of the capital Copenhagen has already agreed to allow the establishment of a mosque’ with a minaret last year. However, Nielsen confirmed that

Denmark is more likely to be targeted by terrorist attacks in the future more so then the rest of the Nordic countries, and including Switzerland, whose population has recently rejected the establishment of  minarets  in a referendum last November.

She further Pointed out that terrorism, that Denmark is fearing will not necessarily  come from abroad, but is likely to be «homemade terrorism » that comes from Islamic extremists living in the Kingdom.

The Danish right  wing had been accusing  Muslims  of receiving funds from Saudi Arabia and Iran to build their mosque, but Nielsen  denied that they have information that confirms or denies these in formation noting that the control  of funding «is beyond the scope of the police intelligence service». She further  asserted that in principle reason there is no problem if  Muslims receive support from any country as long as it’s within the legal framework.

She also explained that the functions of the preventive section at the Police intelligence service, which she is chairing, is to  work on identifying potential security risks and to assist local authorities in preventing the spread of extremist ideas and violence among all groups in society, «but Islamic militants are on the top of the list,we monitor their activities because their violence is prevalent all over the world ».

One of the challenges faced by the Section, according to Nielsen, is to monitor the potential spread of extremist ideologies among Muslim youth in particular, without engaging in any kind of ethnic persecution or discrimination against them.

Nielsen stressed the fact that the Section works on «educating its members about the difference between Islam as a religion, on one hand and Islamic ideologies, and the activities of the radical armed Islamic movements on the other hand », pointing out that the motives of religious extremism in Denmark is mainly because of social and psychological search for the identity and entity, ideological reasons come in second place.

The biggest challenge in her view, is to remove the negative stereotype  of the section among the Danish Muslim community, «Some young Muslims in Denmark

Believe that our mission is to spy on them, while we affirm that we have no intention and no interest in such an activity ».

Nielsen noted that the fight against terrorism and extremism is no longer limited to the arrest and prosecution of extremists and all the other traditional ways of dealing with terror and terrorists. She noted that there is an urgent need to resort to methods less severe and «more humane», such as engaging  in dialogue with extremists and the organization of programs that grant amnesty to terrorists who are willing to reverse their extremist ideas and help them return to normal life by giving them new identities and providing them with new jobs and a decent life. In return ex-terrorists would cooperate with the security services in unveiling terrorists strongholds and in helping in the fight against extremism.

Al-Ahram Hebdo interview with former DEDI director Rasmus Boserup

Al-Ahram Hebdo article deradicalzation conference

This round covers nine governorates; Giza, Beni Suef,  Menufiyyah, Sharqiyyah, Ismailiyyah, Suez, Buhayra, Sohag, and Aswan. The results will give an indication of how the voters in the rural governorates choose to use their votes.

Speculations about the outcome of this round of elections are abundant, but most voters agree that the sweeping victories of Islamic parties; Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and al-Nur will be repeated, and only a few seats will go to the liberals and the parties created by former members of the National Democratic Party (Hizb al-Watany).

Each voter should cast three votes: one for the party list and two for individual candidates (one for a worker/peasant candidate and one for a professional candidate (private business or candidates holding a degree from a higher educational institution)).

Many voters seem to have chosen to spread their votes over different political powers; votes are cast according to political convictions in the elections for party lists, while many have chosen to use at least one of their votes for the individual candidates in support of  someone belonging  to the village, tribe or family.

The impressions from the first of day of elections in this constituency support those from the first round: Egyptians come out in large numbers to vote and the incidences of violence and irregularities are limited.

During the day, many voters have stressed the importance of carrying out the elections with dignity. The relationship between the army and the police which guard the polling stations, and the voters seems to have been amicable, the only cause of confusion and delays have been of a logistical nature.

For these elections, the number of voters in Egypt has skyrocketed from around seven millions to more than 40 million.

During earlier elections, voters had to register at the local police station before being entitled to vote, and many choose not to go through the arduous task of getting registered, especially because, showing an interest in registration might raise the suspicion of the police of the voter’s intentions and might be a cause of harassment. Today the official national ID card, carried by the overwhelming majority of Egyptians, is all what is needed to be accepted as an eligible voter. This, and the relative high turnout have been the main reasons for voters queuing for long hours.

Another logistical issue that has caused confusion is the question of where to vote.

In general, a person should vote where he is registered as living, but because many have not changed their official place of residence after they have migrated to the large cities, some voters are registered at polling stations far from their current place of residence. This might influence the outcome of some of the results of the election. As an example, many Nubians are still registered in areas such as Nasr al-Nuba in Aswan governorate, although they have for a long time resided in other places, far from the most southern governorate.

At the local level, it has also been confusing as to where the voters should go, and at which council in the town or village they were registered as voters.

All parties and candidates have received a CD containing a complete list covering the names of all voters in their constituency, at the same time the CD informs where each voter should go to vote. These lists, which may cover more than a million voters – in Awan around 600.000  – have been a valuable tool used by candidates during their electoral campaigns. They have been able to focus their campaign efforts to specific voters or groups of voters.

In connection with the elections, most parties and the more well-off candidates have also produced small pre-printed cards, where on one side the polling station and the name of the voter may be filled in, while on the other the name and “sign” of the party has been added. Voters have then been approached by the parties, or voters have approached their favorite candidates in order to have clarified where to vote.

Other institutions, like churches, have set-up bill-boards with printouts of the lists, in order to help voters to find the polling station they were assigned to.

On the Election Day, teams of the parties and candidates have also engaged in this process of informing voters where to vote. Close to most polling stations, tables have been set up where assistants of the parties and candidates sit with their laptops ready to serve voters who are in doubt about where to go – or who have ended up at a wrong polling station. Here, the small pre-printed cards have also been useful, being filled out by the candidates representative – again carrying the name and the sign of the candidate on the back. A last minute chance of showing the voters who really care for them!

The official results are expected to be announced on Saturday, the 17^th; both the preliminary results for the party lists and for the individual candidates, those who are expected to enter the run-offs scheduled for the coming Wednesday and Thursday.

The conference will produce two books in both Arabic and English languages, with translated papers. The conference will also create a network of Arab Islamic Feminists and European Muslims to meet periodically and to dialogue regularly though an online platform.

An advisory committee composed of four experts and scholars on Islamic Feminism from Denmark/Europe and the Arab region will meet virtually and periodically, and will be involved in the selection and recommendation process of speakers, papers, program and panels.

The Call for Papers (which was featured on DEDI’s announcement page), can  be downloaded through this project’s resource section.

To view conference program and for registration, please click here

The preparations are followed intensely by local and international media and debates and articles fill TV- and radio-programs, newspapers and magazines. But most of the focus is on the capital Cairo, and it is often forgotten more that half the voters are found in areas outside the metropolis and the other major cities.

On this blog we will focus on the other half; the elections that are taking place in the provincial towns, the villages, and the rural areas, often very far from the centers.

During the coming months we will publish news and features about elections and the political culture from these areas, hoping to draw attention to the specific challenges, the characteristics, and the outcome of the elections there.

In addition to this, changes were made in connection with the last elections held under President Hosny Mubarak in November 2010.

The Egyptian parliament consists of two chambers, the People’s Assembly (Majlis al-sha’ab) and the Consultative Council (Majlis al-shura).

The country has until the last elections for the People’s Assembly been divided into 222 constituencies each electing two candidates.

The president of Egypt has had the right to appoint an additional 10 members to the Assembly. This right has – in the ideal case – been used to secure a higher representation of women and Copts.

In connection with the elections held in November 2010, 64 new seats reserved for women were added to the People’s Assembly (called the “quota”).

Of the two candidates elected in each constituency, one should be a worker or a peasant (ummal/fellahin). A candidate would have to fulfill specific criteria concerning his/her occupation, to run as worker/peasant. The other representative (the fi’at) should represent other sections of society such as private business, being a teacher, lawyer, etc.

In the dissolved People’s Assembly all members were elected through a system of direct vote with individual candidates. A candidate needed 50 percent of the votes in his/her constituency in order to win. Therefore elections most often included a second round (al-‘ada), where the two candidates who gained most votes during the first round competed. This second round was held one week after the first.

Following the revolution of the 25^th of January, this electoral system has been debated and criticized for not leaving new and smaller parties any chance of having their candidates elected. Therefore changes have been announced and debated – and then followed by new changes and debates. .

Changes announced 20^th of July, 2011 and 29^th of September, 2011.

With the approval of the Superior Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), the interim Egyptian Government announced a number of changes to the law on the 20^th of July. These were heavily criticized by a majority of the political parties and movements, after which they were altered. These alterations were announced on the 29^th of September.

At present, the system under which the elections for the People’s Assembly are to be held from the 28^th of November 2011 to the 10^th of January, 2012, contains the following changes to the earlier system:

Most important is that only a third of the seats in the parliament will be elected through the former system of direct elections of individual candidates. The other two thirds will be elected through a system, where candidates are elected from lists submitted by the political parties. This should secure that new and smaller parties get the possibility of being represented in parliament and that the political platforms of the candidates and the policies of the parties will be of greater importance than during earlier elections.

The system where half the candidates must be workers or peasants is kept intact.

The total number of members of the new People’s Assembly will be 508.

It will still be the prerogative of the president to appoint 10 members, but in the coming elections the Superior Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) will be appointing these acting on behalf of the president, who shall be elected at a later point.  It has been announced by SCAF that the presidential elections will be held in June, 2012.

The system where 64 seats are reserved for women (the “quota”) will be abandoned

In order to take into account the change in the number of members of the People’s Assembly and the new electoral system, the number and size of the constituencies will be altered.

83 new districts will be designated to the individual candidacy system from which 166 members of parliament will be elected (two from each, one worker/peasant and one “fi’at”). Members elected through the system of party lists will be elected from 46 constituencies: four to six members being elected in each electoral district, adding up to 332 members.

It should be noted that for the elections, Egypt will be divided into three zones each covering nine governorates, where elections will be held separately with an interval of two weeks in between.

The first round of elections is to commence on the 28^th of November and finish 5^th of December (covering the greater Cairo area, Alexandria and seven other governorates), the second round is expected to start two weeks later, the 14^th of December, finishing the 21^st, while the third round is scheduled to start 3^rd of January and finish the 10^th of January, 2012.

The “finishing dates” are the dates of the expected second rounds of the election of the individual candidates, where the two candidates who have received the most votes in the first round compete in order to acquire the necessary 50% of the votes. That is, the two most successful worker/peasant candidates compete as do the two most successful “fi’at” candidates.

The final result should be announced no later than the 13^th of January.

The Consultative Council (Majlis al-shura)

Elections for the other part of the Egyptian parliament, the Consultative Council, are to be held separately after the elections for the People’s Assembly.

At present, these elections are scheduled for the period 29^th of January to 11^th of March, 2012.

The new Consultative Council will have 270 seats of which two thirds will be elected and one third appointed by the president, at present represented by the Superior Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).

As with the People’s Assembly, one third of the Council will be elected through the system of individual candidates (60) and two thirds will be elected through the system of party lists (120). The constituencies for these elections will in some places differ from those covering the elections for the People’s Assembly. There will only be all in all 60 constituencies 60 the country.

The final result of the elections for the Consultative Council should be presented no later than the 14^th of March, 2012.

The Parliament is expected to assemble for the first time by April, 2012

From south of Cairo to the most southern city of Aswan, tribes are central for the political process and important to take into account when discussing elections. In some areas tribal influence is so strong that no one will think about elections without thinking about tribal alliances and tribal politics. In these areas, elections are not seen as a competition between parties and political ideas, but as the tribe of Ababdah against the tribe of Ja’afra – to mention two of the larger tribes in the most southern parts of Egypt.

Thinking elections and tribes together is an integrated part of Upper Egyptian political culture and even after the political changes this relationship is still central to local political analysis. A recent article on elections in the Aswan governorate published in a local newspaper – Sawt Aswan (The Voice of Aswan) – exemplifies this. Central to the article is to clarify how the voters are distributed in the constituencies of the governorate and therefore it enumerates the tribal composition of the different towns and districts. An example is the town of Daraw where “the Ja’afrah represents 60% of the votes, that is 35.763 votes, the Ababdah represents 15% which represents 8.982 votes, and the Ansar and the Harbiab 5.988 votes”. What is interesting is not which voters support which parties or political trends, but which tribal background the voters and candidates have.

The tribes are essentially to be understood as very large extended families that are distinct politically, but not culturally, from their neighbors. All tribes trace their origin to renowned figures arriving from the Arabian Peninsula either with Amr ibn al-As during the Muslim conquest of the Nile Valley in 641 or within the centuries following.

Although all insist on originating from the Arabian Peninsula, there is at the same time a hierarchy between the tribes, depending on whether the forefathers come from the noble house of the prophet Muhammad and thereby are seen as being part of the ashraf (descendents of the house of the Prophet) or whether the forefather is of less noble origin.

In some areas of Upper Egypt one may find smaller groups of people, who are not reckoned to be of Arab origin and thereby not belonging to the tribes – sometimes mentioned as the fellahin. The fellah in this sense is a Muslim, but one whose ancestors are supposed to have converted to Islam (from Christianity) during the centuries following the conquest of Egypt by the Muslim armies.

In Upper Egypt these groups are few and in the region the word fellah is most often used as a somewhat derogatory name for the peasants of Lower Egypt, another group of people “with no ancestry”.

The tribes are divided into segments, which in certain situations act as separate entities. One of the characteristics of the tribes and their segments is the expected political and moral solidarity within and between the segments, but it is important to notice that this solidarity is in no way mechanical, but negotiated and often disputed.

That the tribes constitute a political force has been the case during all times, but it seems as if their importance as political entities has been strengthened during the last decades, mainly through a dialectic or symbiosis between the de facto one party system (the National Democratic Party being the only party with a real presence in the rural areas) and the tribes. At the same time, the electoral system where all members of Parliament have been elected through direct vote of individual candidates has supported the influence of the tribes on the selection of candidates.

That tribalism has been revitalized within the past decades is something people testify to, Earlier, one would hear older people say that tribes had grown less important. During the years of Gamal Abd al-Nasser, when the Egyptian government promoted an ideology of equality and Arab Socialism, the idea that some people should have a specific status due to their pedigree was in conflict with the ideology. The existence of tribes or “clans” in Upper Egypt was seen as reflecting a backwardness that the Free Officers were trying to curtail. To many, citizenship in a modern state does not fit with the notion of tribes, which in principle encroaches upon the relationship between the individual and the state and creates opposing fields of loyalty.

During the era of Anwar Sadat and especially the former president Hosny Mubarak, the idea of tribalism, of emphasizing the importance of one’s pedigree, once again became legitimate and got official approval. An example was the revitalization of institutions such as “The Syndcate of al-Ashraf” (Naqabit al-Ashraf), a large organization of people who trace their origin to the house of the Prophet, which was more or less closed during the years of Gamal abdel Nasser, but reopened during the years of Hosny Mubarak.

Today, people in Upper Egypt usually give three reasons for the importance of the tribes. First of all belonging to a tribe and also to a specific section or a specific house gives a person an identity. People “know who you are” and are able to place you within the community. As such, it is a powerful marker of identity, at least, within the local community.

The second reason is that the “membership of a tribe” is expected to provide a certain security.

In case you run into trouble such as a fight over land or water, those belonging to the same tribal section are expected to support you. And if the fight escalates, other tribal sections may join in support of your cause. Often you will hear that disputes are between two tribal sections although initially the problems arose between two individuals. There is some sense of solidarity and some sort of order by which disputes and fights are constructed, closely connected to the tribal organization. However, the actual course of events is not predictable – there may be numerous reasons why the rest of a tribal section does not choose to support someone who has gotten into a fight, but ideally they ought to take a stand on the side of the part who they se themselves as related to. Within the present situation, where the authority of the police is negligible and the security situation deteriorating, the function of the tribes as guarantor of the security of the individual is also being strengthened.

The third reason is the most important; the role of tribes in the field of politics and elections. With the monopoly the National Democratic Party has held over elections since it was established in 1978, voters would be looking for some kind of relationship with a political candidate, a reason for electing him. Because the political messages of most candidates have been quite similar, and the public meetings held by candidates during the elections were very similar, the way to raise support has most often been through a reference to the tribal background of the candidate. In other words, candidates “represent” tribes such as Ababda, al-Ansar, or Ja’afra. Since the candidates rarely have had any political programs of any substance and their promises to the voters most often have been quite similar, what the candidates have done during election campaigns, touring the constituency, has most often been to visit the men’s guest-houses in order to solicit the support of the different sections of their tribe. Or they may have visited other tribal guest-houses trying to arrange alliances between the tribes.

What has made a tribal candidate successful is not his policies, but his and his supporters’ ability to arrange for alliances between tribal sections and tribes, often done with an appeal to the solidarity expected to bind these together and with a moral reference to the common history and ancestry.

The new electoral system (where two thirds of the seats in parliament are to be elected through a system of votes on party-lists) and with the introduction of a range of new parties changes in the position and influence of the tribes in elections will without doubt take place.

But the tribes will still be a major force and will still have a decisive influence on the upcoming elections: a candidate is well advised to know the local tribal map before entering the elections.

Constituencies in Egypt have become large, some are very large, through the new electoral law. In some of the populous areas of Cairo, may cover two or three million inhabitants. In the rural areas the number of voters is less, but the new larger constituencies do constitute a new challenge to both candidates and voters.

Today, the constituency of “Aswan First” covers the whole of the area of the most southern governorate in Egypt, Aswan. During former elections this constituency was divided into three, roughly covering the city of Aswan and its vicinities, the city of Kom Ombo and the area around the Nubian settlements in Nasr al-Nuba, and the most northern district around the city of Edfu.

Each of the three constituencies elected two members to parliament through the system where individual candidates competed against each other.

These smaller constituencies each covered around 150.000 to 200.000 votes, and were characterized by a rather close relationship between the candidates and the voters. Voters would know the background of the candidates, and what they could expect if they chose to support a candidate. This relationship between voters and candidates was supported by the tradition, that a candidate, not living in the constituency or at least not having his roots there, would never gain any support. Candidates were seen as local representatives who should support the area and secure a flow of money and services from the center Cairo. A candidate was not elected due to his political views and few candidates ever stated any, and as an example, the widespread phenomenon where oppositional candidates, who campaigned as independent (mustaqil), and thereby against the ruling party, would join the National Democratic Party (NDP) right after entering parliament, was a product of this, and most often accepted by the voters: Membership of the NDP was seen as a necessary mean to secure access to the coffers in Cairo.

The new larger constituency still covers six seats in the lower house of parliament, the majlis al-shaab), four to be elected through the system of party lists and two reserved for individual candidates.

The introduction of the party lists has altered the elections dramatically, but the change in the size of the constituency has also proven to be a major challenge.

Today the constituency covers an area running along the Nile, from the governorate of Qena in the north to the High Dam and Lake Nasser in the south, stretching more than 120 kilometers. Actually the constituency also covers the area along the Lake Nasser, down to the tourist village at the Abu Simbel monuments, but few candidates take these sparsely populated areas into account when planning their campaigns.

Not only has the area expanded but the number of voters who the candidates should take into consideration – and maybe represent – has grown to more than 600.000 (the population of the governorate is approximately 1.25 mill.).

Already now, before the conclusion of the election campaigns it has become visible that as a consequence of the new system, “money” has become a much more important issue, than during earlier elections. Out of the 108 candidates who are participating in the elections as individual candidates there is a dramatic difference in campaign style and appearance of those who have and those who have no money. Millionaire candidates and candidates who are connected to one of the larger parties are able to get their posters and banners up in all parts of the constituency, arrange for rallies and keep election teams that plan the campaign, search the lists of voters for possible entries to the different communities, and secure cars and people to bring the candidate around. Although the Egyptian government has set a limit to how much candidates and parties may spend on their campaigns; whether a candidate exceeds these limits is never an issue raised.

Others with lesser means are depending on friends and family, and often a remarkable enthusiasm to get out to the voters, visit the different parts of the district, or as some of these have done, try to rely on getting as many votes as possible within a limited area where they are known and may command respect; but these will have a hard time succeeding – if any.

But money is not only used for the actual campaigns, being generous to the local communities, in some cases by helping with mosque building, donating air conditioners to mosques, and offering jobs and monetary support to the poor is a central part of the campaigns of those who can afford and probably those who in the end will be successful. This is not similar to the vote buying that took place during former elections, where candidates literally bought votes, paid people for handing in their election cards to a middleman who then submitted them in bundles to those overseeing the elections, who then filled out the voting cards at a fixed price.

But it helps to have money to not least to show the voters what feast is waiting if the candidate is successful!

It is not only the individual candidates who are depending on having access to funding: Among the 16 parties competing in the district there are large differences in their ways of reaching the voters. To the large parties – or those who have become large very quick – al-Wafd, the Muslim Brothers’ Fredom and Justice, and the Salafi al-Nur, there seems to be no limits to the funding. Huge rallies and electoral meetings are arranged, where stages and tents are set up and where the speeches of the candidates and dignitaries from Cairo are televised to those who could not find room in the tents. Caravans of cars with the candidates and the national leaders of the parties tour the constituency.

On the other hand there are the smaller parties, new and old, liberal, those who have been created by former members of the banned NDP, and the lists covering different constellations of new parties. None of these seem to be able to follow when it comes to secure funding for meetings or rallies, and it is hard to find a candidate representing these parties who is not complaining about the lack of funding or who is not raising accusations about foreign financial support driving the elections. These accusations are mainly directed towards the newcomer al-Nur, which to the surprise of many managed to be successful during the first round of elections.

Candidates’ access to funding has for a long time had an influence on the outcome of parliamentary elections in Egypt. During earlier elections, money was to a large extent used for vote buying or other fraudulent practices. These practices seem to be limited today but with the larger constituencies it has become a necessity to be able to afford large and expensive campaigns, just to reach the voters.

Download the issue using the following link: Ahram suplement on elections

Article Translation

Young Observer from Egypt

During the election campaign, a young Egyptian politician followed Venstre’s Eva Kjer Hansen. She is a candidate for parliamentary elections in Egypt, and she has learned a lot here in Denmark.

Jaylan Khaled Abd el-Hamid thinks the Danish election is interesting because we have many political parties that have existed for many years and therefore have a political tradition.

Respect for the opponent

She has attended some of the political debates and thinks it’s interesting that the candidates show each other respect. During the debate, she felt some controversy, but afterwards everyone were kind to each other again.

In Egypt, there is no tradition of having several active political parties, says Jaylan. It is a new phenomenon. We are only now beginning to learn how to handle this.

Politics is something new

However, she can take many things back home. How to lead a campaign, for example. How to create interest among voters.

She can see that the parties have a thorough agenda that connects to the current situation in the country. The young Egyptian politician has also learned that a political program has to be formulated in a language that is easily accessible to voters.

- That is what we need, because politics in Egypt is new and we have no experience in what we must do to win voters’ interest, says Jaylan Khaled Abd el-Hamid.

Article Translation

Election Monitor from Egypt Follows the Election in Vedbæk

In two months, Egypt holds its first free and democratic elections and therefore 15 Egyptians from different political parties are in Denmark to attend the parliamentary elections.

Mohammed Sami is one of the Egyptian election monitors and he is following the election at Vedbæk School.

“- In two months we hold the first free democratic elections in Egypt and it will be a very different one than has previously been held in Egypt. Therefore, I am in Denmark with 15 other Egyptians to follow how elections are held in Denmark,” says Mohammed Sami to Vedbæk.NET.

Mohammad Sami has been in Denmark since last Saturday, where he has been given a three-day introduction to how the electoral and democratic process takes place in Denmark.

“- What we observe here in Denmark, we will take back to Egypt and it will be part of our preparation for the elections in Egypt. There are big differences in how elections in Egypt have been held and the election in Denmark. For example, people in Egypt take the day off to vote, even if very few show up and elections in Egypt have always been with a lot of security precautions. Here in Vedbæk there is no security and it is the citizens themselves who make sure that polling is done correctly, “says Mohammed Sami.

Mohammad Sami has been in Vedbæk the last few days and followed the preparations up close. At Vedbæk School, voter turnout in the parliamentary elections in 2007 was 93%, something Mohammed Sami is very surprised about. He says:

“- I was very surprised when I heard that 93% of voters had cast their votes at the last general election in Vedbæk and I’ve never heard of a country or place where the turnout was so high,” says Mohammed Sami, who will stay a few days in Denmark after the election to gather all the impressions and take them back to Egypt.

Article Translation:

Egyptians Study Democracy in Roskilde

New parties visit Roskilde and follow the Danish elections

A number of new Egyptian politicians from liberals, socialdemocrats and religious parties have the past days visited Roskilde to learn more about democracy.

A larger delegation from the new parties formed in Egypt after the longstanding dictator Mubarak was ousted in spring is visiting Denmark. Here, they participate in lectures with Danish democracy experts and discuss in seminars with elected officials from Denmark.

Part of their course is visits around Denmark to see how local democracy works – and how to run a general election.

The Egyptians in Roskilde have visited Mayor Joy Mogensenn at City Hall and LO Chairman Torben Jørgensen. They were also at Roskilde Avis to see how free speech works.

The DEDI Dialogue Forum 2011 will provide a constructive learning platform for the participants to get extensive insights into “tolerance, collaboration and revolution” as themes and to their relevancy within the context of change and reform. As a result, the role of “tolerance” and “collaboration” in connection to the phenomenon of “revolutions” will be defined and clarified. Concepts such as Deliberative Democracy, Collaborative Leadership and Sustainable Civic Engagement will be explored and critically examined through workshops/lectures by distinguished speakers, excursions, discussions and dialogue.

The Course will offer the participants new skills and knowledge in order for them to have a positive impact on the social and political development in the Arab region. It will also offer the platform to moderate discussions between polarized views to find common grounds and foster consensus, as well as, explore mutually supportive efforts between Danish and Egyptian participants through common social and political points of interest and practice.

The forum will take place from 15-21 October 2011

With this in mind, DEDI together with a consortium of Egyptian and International organizations has designed a project that aims to support an inclusive and participatory political environment that addresses both shorter and longer term needs of political parties.

The overall objectives of the project are to provide a knowledge base of voter preferences, and of different global transition experiences. It also aims at providing training and dialogue on electoral systems, legal reform, constitution building processes and party organization. The project entails political debates and discussions.

The project addresses the most pressing needs of the political parties and intends to support the interested political parties in the upcoming parliamentary elections in terms of electoral knowledge and strategy, political programming, campaigning, debating and approach to media. It also helps them in the constitutional process following the parliamentary elections and then in the post-elections process of building sustainable party organizations and the knowledge needed to establish a membership and funding base.

The needs of the political parties closely correspond to the expected election cycle and constitutional process as declared by the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces (SCAF) following a referendum held in March 2011.

Activities of the project has so far included four opinion polls, which were conducted with Al Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS). Three polls were conducted through face-to-face interviews with 2400 randomly selected Egyptians ahead of Egypt’s parliamentary elections. The fourth poll contains 1126 responses from randomly selected Egyptians in governorates where the second round of elections is taking place.

The project has also produced one report in Arabic and English, entitled “The Future of Egypt’s Democracy- The Voice of the Egyptian Voter,” reflecting on the Egyptian political landscape and voters attitudes based on the surveys. The products of the project also includes a number of trainings on political campaigning and coalition building and a trip to Denmark by 15 Egyptian politicians and campaign staff to experience the Danish parliamentary elections.

Please find the report and the four polls under Project Resources.

http://massai.ahram.org.eg/Inner.aspx?IssueId=675&typeid=30&ContentID=37133

It is in this light that the coordinators of the Cairo Photo Marathon returned to the images as possible documents of a historical moment. The occasion for this selection is the nation-wide DK theatrical release on 7 December 2011 of the feature documentary film ½ Revolution, directed by Omar Shargawi and Karim El-Hakim, and the subsequent live tele-debate organized by DOX-BIO. Selected images from the Cairo Photo Marathon 2011 will be exhibited to put into perspective to a Danish public the themes that emerge from the film. The exhibition aims to illustrate the tensions present on the streets of Cairo, that may serve as a contextual ‘preview’ for the events to follow on January 25, 2011 in Cairo through the eyes of a DEDI-IMS initiated pioneering event in Cairo; the Photo Marathon.

The Cairo Photo Marathon 2011 was organized with the collaboration of Townhouse Gallery, Contemporary Image Collective, Diwan Bookstore and Al Masry Al Youm English Edition.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact Muna Bur mb@dedi.org.eg or Osama Dawod info@osamadawod.com

The workshop gathered young Egyptian journalists from various newspapers with four Danish journalism experts to discuss the workings of political journalisms.

The workshop covered very specific themes  including Critical journalism in a democracy, the role of journalists in a democracy, the optimal environment for critical journalism and if can the press have too much power?

In addition, the workshop drew upon covering election and knowing how to see through the agenda of politicians. Further more, they participants and speakers discussed opinion polls and how to keeping the election interesting through several weeks in a journalistic sense.

The relationship between journalists and politicians as we well as the cooperation with those journalists are supposed to be critical of was reviewed before the workshop ended.

The Danish speakers were Rasmus Nielsen, Ask Rostrup, Søs Marie Serup and Mette Østergaard.

The purpose of the trip was twofold:

To give the journalists an impression of the Danish democratic model and how elections are held.

To take a closer look at how Danish media work during an election time and how they stay critical of the politicians yet manage to remain on good terms with them.