Endearing but Deadly Politics of Egypt, Fat but Hungry Tourists…..
“ONE of the endearing things about Egypt is that although nearly everyone fiddles, breaks or ignores the rules, everyone gamely pretends to respect them. Elections, for instance, are an elaborate charade. Rarely does turnout exceed 20%, and this from a list of registered voters that, in 2005, covered only 40% of the eligible pool, by official count. Few people register because the legal period for doing so is short and comes many months before elections. Besides, registration involves a visit to a police station, which many Egyptians prefer to avoid. Foreign election observers are banned. The parties allowed to run for the People’s Assembly, Egypt’s parliament, are selected by a committee controlled by the ever-ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), which is headed by Mr Mubarak. Independents can stand, which is how the Muslim Brothers, banned as an organisation, field their candidates. But they risk arrest on some pretext, and harassment even without one……..”
Thus spoke The Economist. You can call it “endearing” if you are not Egyptian and are not obliged to acquiesce, and therefore you are not under the constant threat of prison, torture, rape, and death. Endearing for the tourists from Fat Europe or from my Fat yet Hungry Gulf, if you know what I mean, for those who pass by the centers of “persuasion” without knowing what goes on behind the closed doors.
Cheers
mhg
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