A woman wearing the niqab was caught trying to vote using another citizen’s national ID in a polling station in Kerdasa, Giza on Tuesday. The incident was reported and confirmed by several obvservers, including the state-affiliated National Council for Human Rights (NCHR).“She was arrested and a police report was filed,” said Mohamed El-Shentnawy, manager of the parliamentary elections observatory at Maat’s local international joint mission.
According to Maat’s observatory report, the woman collected several IDs from voters in exchange for EGP 30 each to vote in favour of candidates Amr Tayeah and Alaa Wali.
“These two candidates formed an alliance. This woman gathered nearly 50 ID cards from voters in exchange of money ranging from EGP 20 to 50,” he told Daily News Egypt.
The judge there suspected her activity when she reentered the same polling stations several times. “The issue is not in the hands of the prosecution authorities,” El-Shentnawy said.
A member of the operation room of state-affiliated National Council for Women Rights (NCWR) told Daily News Egypt Wednesday there had been no other complaints from women wearing the niqab during the electoral process.
The Supreme Electoral Commission (SEC) issued a decision earlier, requiring women to reveal their faces to check their identification. Voters are also obliged to mark their fingers in phosphoric ink after voting.
“Supposedly this is what should happen but sometimes there is negligence in procedures, especially in popular districts,” Shentnawy said.
