Egypt: Elections Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateBaroness Royall of Blaisdon
Main Page: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Royall of Blaisdon's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(11 years, 9 months ago)
Lords Chamber
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that international observers are invited to monitor the forthcoming election in Egypt.
My Lords, we have raised international election monitoring with the Egyptian authorities. They have published guidelines for international observation for the forthcoming parliamentary elections. The Carter Center and the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa, both of which have been funded from the UK’s Arab Partnership for previous elections in Egypt, have also had constructive discussions with the Egyptian authorities. They expect to be allowed to deploy observers for these elections.
My Lords, I am grateful for the response from the Minister. Tomorrow is the second anniversary of the Egyptian revolution, when the Arab spring arrived in Tahrir Square with people taking to the streets to demand democracy, social justice and equal rights. Does the noble Baroness share my disappointment at the way in which the new constitution was adopted, and does she agree that the flawed process makes it even more important that the elections to the first National Assembly are free, fair and transparent?
Tomorrow is an important anniversary. The noble Baroness is right; it is two years since the start of the revolution. Of course we have some concerns as to how the constitution was adopted. Among other things, although the vote in the end may have been over 60%, the turnout itself was quite low at just over 30%. We also have some specific concerns about contentious elements within the constitution but we are encouraged by the fact that there is now a review process. Like the noble Baroness, I look forward to parliamentary elections later this year.