Voting girl 2011 edition : Parliamentary elections “People’s assembly”

And the race is on in 9 governorates , our elections’ second stage has kicked off in 9 governorates and we wonder if there will be a high turn out this time like the first time or not. Regardless of the moderate turnout , there is less campaigning outside the polling stations at least in most areas in Giza.

Starting from early morning and there have been mixed reports about the turnout in the 9 governorates yet without doubt it it is not high like the first stage but we should take in consideration that people are not rushing to polling stations for fear of delay and thus are delaying it either to later time later today or tomorrow. 

Of course this time I could not do a live update like the previous one because this time I was your voting girl who stained her finger with a blue ink after casting her vote.

 

At first I headed to the Kommia language school polling station in Agouza to see the turnout , the Kommia polling station can be a good indicator . I found a long queue of ladies waiting for their turn.

 

I found Ahmed Mortada Mansour leaving the polling station after checking it from outside in his black jeep and he did not seem happy , may be he knew that that offensive video clip showing him calling his rivals bad names in meeting with his team found a way online.

 

Ahmed Mortada Mansour addresses his team !!

 

There were candidates’ banners hanged outside the polling there up till today.

I head to my polling station where I found inside the polling stations 3 long , very long queues of ladies representing a real cross section of Egyptian society

whether from class or age or background or culture. I even saw a baby girl brought by her mom. There were old ladies who were helped by policemen and military police , they were let in first.

After about 15 minutes or 25 minutes I was inside in front of the ballot box. The judge saw my ID card and I already knew my number in the list and I signed my name with a big fuss.

Unlike any election I voted in or saw in time of Mubarak , it was organized. Of course I was given an extremely big ballot paper for the individual seat with too many names to the level that I kept searching for the pictorial symbols !! The list seat ballot paper was small.

I chose Dr. Amr Shobaki in the professional seat and Mohamed Taha for the labor seat. I also voted for the revolution continues for the list seat. I hope my vote will help them because they are facing tough competition. 

I voted behind some sort of voting booth for the first time.

I found three girls siting in the voting hall , they were not telling anybody who were voting just collecting counting the ladies who went and vote.

There was a lot of talk about politics and candidates the ladies I met in the polling station all agree that there should not be one big bloc controlling the parliament or in other words the Muslim brotherhood's freedom and justice And here is the golden moment.

In my way to work I passed by two polling stations there are not that full including the Kommia school polling station again. I saw candidate Hisham Mongy outside the polling station in Kommia school. 

 

Moving to the rest of the governorates :

Here is former Prime minister Esssam Sharaf voting in a polling station in Dokki district, Giza. Former first lady Jihan has voted as well

The American ambassador Paterson has visited a polling station in Dokki district ,Giza earlier this morning as well. It is worth to mention that a team from Carter's center with HEC in Cairo.

Ironically the FJ party is accusing Egyptian bloc of campaigning outside the polling stations in Ismailia in a statement their elections operation room has issued from short time ago. Their website also report violations committed by Wafed party in Sharkia.

Since last night the Egyptian bloc accuses FJ party of elections fraud.

 

@2:11 PM Cairo local time

A special elections committee is heading to Torah prison so Alaa Abdel Fatah can vote. It is great news but I wonder if other detainees including the Mubaraks and the rest of their gang will vote.

The military appeal court had sentenced Maikel Nabil two years in jail and the Free Egyptians party has announced its support to Nabil demanding his release. Despite defending the freedom of speech as part of liberalism regardless of what you think about Nabil , this is a political suicide for the FEP now especially the Egyptian Bloc is currently being defamed badly in the Egyptian society by Islamist

 

@4:24 PM Cairo local time

Several fights between the FJ party and Nour party in several governorates.

Alaa Abdel Fatah is going to vote tomorrow at Torah prison.

There are several polling stations in Giza , Sharkia , Monufia.

A voter was wounded in a gunshot in Ismailia from short time ago in a fight at some village among the supporters of two rival candidate , it's unclear who these candidates are.

@ 6 PM Cairo Local time

People began to appear again in the polling stations in Giza , after finishing their work I suppose. The HCE has extended the voting process till 9 PM.

Most violations I read today was from Nour party when it comes to campaigning outside the polling stations. There was a lot of fight between the the Nour party and FJ party aside from the old fight between the FJ party and the Egyptian bloc.