As an Egyptian living abroad, voting would have been one of the very few means my voice would have been significant for Egypt. Indeed, if I am not able to be physically on Tahrir square protesting for the future of my country, is there anything else than a voting ballot to have an influence? But alas, regarding to the events of the last weeks, I took the decision to boycott the Egyptian elections.
The main reason for me to boycott the elections is the growing brutality of the SCAF and the police with the Egyptian people, acting like the dictator they promised to protect us from. The transitory period should have lasted 6 months, but we are today 9months after Ferbruary 11th, and nothing changed in Egypt. There is no reform of justice, protestors are targeted with tear gas, if not with real bullets, some of them die.Freedom of speech has not improved in Egypt, where 12’000 people had to face military trials, sometimes only for emitting opinions. The regime didn’t downfall with Mubarak, it is continuing with the SCAF. If I went voting, I would feel like I am spitting on the bodies of the martyrs of Tahrir and Maspero, and all the others; indeed, it would be like approving the way the SCAF is running the country.
The other reason for me to boycott the elections is that the organization is very opaque, and we can’t be confident in it. The elections are not organized by an independant institute like were Tunisian elections and SCAF and Ministry of Interior that are today attacking the people in the streets are those who manage the process. We know nothing of the details of the monitoring and there is no independant observers. Everything is left to the random mood of the SCAF. Where is the difference with Mubarak-era elections? Why would we participate to such a mascarade?
The Armed Forces led by General Tantawi are all-powerful in Egypt and I don’t want to contribute with my voting ballot to chose their civilian puppets. Six months were more than enough for such a mighty institution to transfer the power to the people and organize fair and transparent elections. And they didn’t.
In conclusion I would just say that as a half-tunisian half-egyptian, I had the chance to vote last month for the Tunisian elections. My eyes still fill up with tears of joy thinking back of that day where Tunisian citizen could freely vote for their leaders, without any form of threat coming from the army or another institution. And even if I didn’t vote for Ennahda, the fact that they were elected by my fellow-citizens whom were given a free choice is enough for me. And that is no more no less what I wish for Egypt, my other country. Today I can be a proponent or an opponent in Tunisia. Sadly, I don’t think we can say the same about Egypt; boycotting the elections is my way of disapproving the hijack by the SCAF of the revolution made by the great people of Egypt.
