EGYPT: Election Campaign posters blanket the streets of Cairo as residents decide who to vote for - or whether to vote at all

Record ID: 346423

  • Title: EGYPT: Election Campaign posters blanket the streets of Cairo as residents decide who to vote for - or whether to vote at all
  • Date: 28th November 2011
  • Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (NOVEMBER 27, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ELECTION BANNERS IN STREETS CAMPAIGN CAR DRIVING PAST WITH DRIVER SPEAKING THROUGH LOUDSPEAKERS MAN IN CAMPAIGN CAR SPEAKING THROUGH MICROPHONE VIEW FROM CAMPAIGN CAR DRIVING THROUGH STREETS DRIVER'S HANDS ON STEERING WHEEL / MAN SPEAKING THROUGH MICROPHONE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SPEAKING TO CAMPAIGN CAR DRIVER CAR DRIVING AWAY VARIOUS OF MEN SITTING IN CAFÉ SMOKING SHISHA WATER BUBBLING IN SHISHA PIPE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) QASR EL-NIL CONSTITUENT, ASHOR MOHAMED, SAYING: "Anyone. I will go with my ID card and I will vote for anybody, that's it. I don't want anything from any of them." (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) QASR EL-NIL CONSTITUENT, SAEED ABDEL RAHEEM, SAYING: "I'm not voting for anybody, I'd rather pay 500 pounds than vote for anybody. Let me tell you why: I can choose any name but I don't know anything about them. They all just talk slogans. They haven't given me enough time to form my opinion and get to know those I might vote for." GLASS OF TEA ON TABLE MEN SITTING IN CAFÉ SMOKING SHISHA VARIOUS OF ELECTION BANNERS IN STREETS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) QASR EL-NIL CONSTITUENT, MOHAMED ABDEL MONEIM, SAYING: "(I will vote) on the basis of their education and their knowledge of our needs and the needs of the constituency and the country and our financial circumstances. If he talks to me and he is willing to take care of our financial needs and my home then I will vote for him." VARIOUS OF BANNERS IN STREETS TRAFFIC IN STREETS / HAND-PAINTED BANNERS HANGING SHOP-KEEPER IN PAINT SHOP (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SHUBRA CONSTITUENT, HAMDY SAYED ALY, SAYING: "God willing we will feel secure even when we're walking. These things can happen in any family. Don't forget this is a country, not a family where people are having marital problems. We have seen a change in regime so this is normal. But God willing, things will go well for Egypt." ELECTION POSTERS IN STREET TRAFFIC IN STREETS VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC DRIVING PAST ELECTION BANNERS
  • Embargoed: 13th December 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt, Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA6RGBWU44M5VFNZJBKOCXTWT00
  • Story Text: Election banners lined the streets of Cairo on Sunday (November 27), a day before Egypt votes in the country's first free poll in living memory.
    Polling stations are due to open in the capital and several other cities including Alexandria on Monday (November 28), while the rest of the country will vote in two separate stages on December 14 and January 1.
    Candidates run as independents or on party or coalition lists in a complex electoral system that bars members of the police and armed forces from voting.
    But many Egyptians complain they know little about the candidates' policy platforms and some of those in the Qasr el-Nil constituency in central Cairo say they have too little information to make an informed choice.
    "I'm not voting for anybody, I'd rather pay 500 pounds than vote for anybody. Let me tell you why: I can choose any name but I don't know anything about them. They all just talk slogans. They haven't given me enough time to form my opinion and get to know those I might vote for," said Saeed Abdel Raheem referring to the 500 Egyptian pound (85 U.S. Dollar) fine for anyone who does not vote.
    Others said they would vote for candidates who understood their concerns.
    "(I will vote) on the basis of their education and their knowledge of our needs and the needs of the constituency and the country and our financial circumstances. If he talks to me and he is willing to take care of our financial needs and my home then I will vote for him," said Mohamed Abdel Moneim.
    Security at polling stations is a concern in Cairo as violent clashes between demonstrators and security forces have left 42 dead and over 2000 injured since protests began in and around Tahrir Square on November 18.
    There have been calls for voting in Qasr el-Nil to be postponed but polling stations are due to open on Monday (November 28) and stay open for two days.
    A constituent in Shubra, to the north of central Cairo, said he had no such concerns.
    "God willing we will feel 0secure even when we're walking. These things can happen in any family. Don't forget this is a country, not a family where people are having marital problems. We have seen a change in regime so this is normal. But God willing, things will go well for Egypt," said Hamdy Sayed Aly.
    According to government electoral guidelines, campaigning is due to stop two days before polls open but there were campaign vans blasting out slogans in Shubra just hours before the ballot boxes were to be unveiled.
    Results will be announced in stages with the full results not known until early 2012.
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