Opinion - The international observer groups |13 September 2016

Now that the Seychelles National Assembly Election 2016 is over and that all major players have agreed that it was conducted in a fair and transparent way – I would like to make a few comments concerning the ‘overkill’ situation with respect to observers arriving here to oversee how our National Assembly election was conducted despite the fact that some observers came from countries still under the plight of dictatorship or military rule.

Besides the two local observer groups, the Citizens Democracy Watch Seychelles (CDWS) and the Association for Rights Information and Democracy (ARID) which made it a point to deploy their members to various polling stations – there were five observer groups from overseas – African Union (AU), European Union (EU), Southern African Development Community (SADC), Electoral Commission Forum of SADC countries and Indian Ocean Commission (IOC).

I have participated as an ‘election observer’ in different election missions in different parts of the world and I would like to make some comments with relevance to the fulfillment of these missions in a satisfactory and transparent way. Perhaps the most interesting experience resolved around the Egyptian Presidential election following the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. This is a story which I think should be of interest to most of your readers interested to learn more on the subject.

Please refer to pages 230-233 in my book, 'SEYCHELLES – The saga of a small nation navigating the cross-currents of a big world' on the subject –

“Perhaps the most important mission I attended as a member of the Committee of Elders of Comesa came from the invitation extended to me by the then Chairperson of the African Union (AU), Mr Jean Ping, to observe the presidential election that was to take place in Egypt on the 23rd and 24th of May 2012, in which the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Morsi was elected to the post of President. In his letter of May 7, 2012, Commissioner Ping stated – “…Given your vast experience and commitment to the strengthening of democracy and peace in the continent, I would like to kindly request that Your Excellency lead the African Union Election Observer Mission to Egypt....”

The AU, based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, had invited some twenty-four African nations, including some known Islamist political activists from West Africa, to be part of that mission. I was, therefore, not surprised that the Egyptian authorities came back to the AU saying that they only had space for one observer from the AU and not more. As Egypt is one of the most important members of Comesa and has always played an active role within the AU, Commissioner Ping had to take this “slap in the face” intelligently. I was therefore asked to be the lone observer on behalf of the AU, although it was agreed that I was to be accompanied by two executive assistants from the AU headquarters.

The influence of the Armed Forces on the organisation of the election was made obvious to me soon after arrival. In fact, I found myself staying in a sort of a boutique hotel that I came to understand was the residential club for officers of the Egyptian Air Force. Soon after my arrival, I had a meeting with the acting President of the National Council for Human Rights of Egypt, Dr Mohamed Fayek. Next, I was to meet other international observers groups who had been invited to observe the election. Of these, the most authoritative group was that from the US-based Carter Centre that was represented by several officials led by former US President Jimmy Carter himself. I also met Mr Cassam Uteem, a former President of the Republic of Mauritius who was leading the delegation from the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA), and I also met representatives of the League of Arab States. Later, I had high-level meetings with the Presidential Elections Committee as well as the UN Mission Election Team.

The election started early on Wednesday the 23rd May and was closed late on Thursday the 24th May. During this time, I was officially authorised to visit any polling station of my choice and witness the election in progress. My observation was limited only to what was going on in Cairo, as I had no possibility or opportunity to venture beyond that city.

My impression was that Egypt was going through a period of calm and serious reflection on that historic day. There was an atmosphere of great serenity as the people of Cairo made up their minds for whom to vote. While there were about 13 Presidential candidates, it appeared from the polls that there were only four to five serious contenders for the office of President. They were Mr Amr Moussa, an independent candidate and former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt and former Secretary-General of the League of Arab States; Dr Abdel Moneim Abou El Fotouh, an independent candidate; Mr Hamdien Sabahy, an independent candidate; Mr Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood Freedom and Justice Party; and Mr Ahmed Shafik, another independent candidate.

There had been a series of debates on the television and radio networks in Egypt concerning the policies of the different candidates.

Indeed, I considered myself privileged to have had the opportunity to witness this vital development, as the people of Egypt were searching for information required for democratic changes on that day, which finally saw Mr Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood being elected to run the Government of Egypt.

Throughout my visit, I was assisted by Ms Shumbana Karume, head of the Democracy and Elections Assistant Unit of the African Union Political Affairs Department based in Addis Ababa, and Mr Conrad Mederic, who was serving in the office of the Principal Counsellor in the Seychelles High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa.

This Presidential Election in Egypt was the first endeavour for the Egyptian people to elect their own head of state. Historically, Egypt was ruled by monarchies until Mr Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew the Government of King Farouk to become President of Egypt. Since President Nasser, there have been a list of other Presidents who were not directly elected by the people but were prominent personalities with military backgrounds.

Following the assassination of President Muhammad Anwar Al Sadat, Mr Hosni Mubarak assumed the presidency and ruled the country for over 30 years without interruption. Over this time, national disenchantment with the Mubarak regime increased until, as we will remember, it motivated the revolution of 2011 and called for a democratic government led by a directly-elected President.

The rest is now history. President Morsi was eventually arrested for failing to provide good leadership governance. The military assumed control under the strong and dynamic leadership of Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, who on March 27, 2014, resigned from the military in order to stand as a civilian candidate for the next Presidential Election.

God bless Egypt, God bless the African Union and God bless all African nations as they navigate through the troublesome and confusing waters of today’s politics in search of democracy. Throughout the twentieth century populations everywhere became more concerned with good governance, human rights, and ending oppression. So far, it seems to be easier to bring down a bad regime than to create a good one. The protestors in Egypt could agree that they wanted a government better than that of Mubarak’s regime, but it takes more than an election to bring about the changes Egyptians sought. A common understanding of the principles of good political governance and the ability to elect leaders who will uphold them is also crucial to avoid constant regime change and confusion. It is not enough to simply elect the most popular candidate.”

As we know, with respect to our National Assembly election, this time the African Union dispatched a 26-strong delegation but they were all ladies from different African nations. Why were there no men in the delegation has not been revealed.

I am, of course, looking forward to their reports to find out whether any one has explained as to why only four ladies could now serve in the National Assembly as opposed to 14 in the National Assembly election of year 2011.

I hope the 26 ladies enjoyed their stay at the Savoy Resort and Spa and had time to recognise that in this society we certainly have a lot of ladies running the show – either in the frontline or behind the frontline.

Within a wider picture, as a sovereign independent nation, is it imperative that we see observer missions coming here to oversee our elections in progress? Do the elections taking place in France, Russia, UK and in the USA come under scrutiny of observer missions from overseas?

Certainly we must appreciate that certain international organisations have us very much under focus.

Some clarifications would be very much welcomed.

James R. Mancham