US embassy cable - 05CAIRO8786

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 008786 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR SINGH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, EG, Parliamentary Elections, Elections 
SUBJECT: EGYPT: MORE ON VIOLENCE, INITIAL RESULTS IN STAGE 
TWO OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 
 
REF: CAIRO 8745 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified by ECPO Minister Counselor Michael Corbin for 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
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Summary 
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1. (SBU) On November 20, the second stage of People's 
Assembly elections was held in the provinces of Alexandria, 
Gharbiya, Beheira, Qalyoubia, Suez, Fayyoum, and Qena. 
Violent incidents marred polling in a number of districts, 
particularly in the provinces of Alexandria and Beheira. 
While the most detailed and voluminous reporting cited "NDP 
thugs," including ex-convicts, as instigators for violence in 
different areas, an Interior Ministry statement assigned most 
of the blame to "supporters of Islamist candidates."  We are 
still awaiting a comprehensive and official accounting of the 
results.  Our best information as of COB on November 21 is 
that the Muslim Brotherhood won 12 seats outright, the ruling 
NDP took 4, and one seat went to an independent.  122 seats 
will be contested in runoffs on November 26, with the MBs 
competing in 41 of these races.  End Summary. 
 
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Uptick in Violence 
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2. (C) As reported in reftel, serious incidents of violence 
accompanied the opening day of the second stage of People's 
Assembly elections, November 20.  Violence was particularly 
concentrated in Alexandria, where there were two confirmed 
fatalities and dozens of injuries. The street fights pitted 
"thugs" widely believed to have been hired by local NDP 
candidates and/or independent candidates mainly affiliated 
with the NDP, against supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood 
(MB). 
 
3. (C) APP Alexandria Principal Officer witnessed in the 
early afternoon a large group of deployed riot police 
preparing to storm a network of crowded alleys in the Gheit 
al Einab district of Alexandria, a lower-income and heavily 
Coptic neighborhood close to the scene of clashes between 
Copts and Muslims during Ramadan. 
 
4. (SBU) One of Egypt's leading civil society groups, the 
Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the 
Legal Profession (ACIJLP), catalogued some of the violence in 
Alexandria in a written statement issued on November 21. 
ACIJLP monitors in Alexandria noted: 
 
-- Thugs hired by an independent candidate in the Ras el-Teen 
neighborhood attacked and injured supporters of a rival 
candidate, hospitalizing three. 
 
-- In the Minya al-Basel neighborhood, 50 "NDP thugs" armed 
with chains assaulted MB supporters, injuring two. 
 
-- Street fights between NDP and MB supporters were also 
sighted in the Alexandria neighborhoods of Ameriya, Dakhela, 
and Burg el-Arab. 
 
-- An attack by NDP supporters on MB supporters at the 
polling station of the Bilal al-Rabah school resulted in a 
number of injuries and scattered voters who had been waiting 
to cast their ballots. 
 
5. (SBU) Violent incidents also took place in Port Said, 
where an unruly crowd of hundreds was dispersed by police 
gunfire, in Ismailiya (reftel), and in Damanhour, where MB 
street gangs beat back thugs allegedly released from jail to 
intimidate Islamist voters in one of the most fiercely 
contested races of the round (septel). 
 
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MOI Statement 
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6. (SBU) The Ministry of Interior issued a written statement 
late on November 20 acknowledging that "thuggery, voter 
intimidation, and violence" was occurring, but ascribing 
responsibility for most of these incidents to Islamists.  The 
Ministry had advised concerned parties, the statement 
continued, that it "would not permit any illegal acts and 
that it would not allow any threat to national security or 
stability to effect the integrity of the nation."  The 
Ministry also chastised unspecified media outlets for 
disseminating inaccurate information and exaggerated accounts 
of violence. 
 
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Initial Results 
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7. (SBU) While much "results data" is in circulation, we 
continue to await an official and comprehensive accounting of 
yesterday's races.  It appears that a relative handful of 
races ended decisively, while the majority will move to 
runoffs.  (According to Egyptian law, a candidate must 
receive at least 51 percent of the popular vote to be 
elected.  If no candidate secures 51 percent in the first 
round, the two leading contenders advance to a runoff.) 
 
8. (SBU) According to the best information available as of 
late afternoon November 21, preliminary and unofficial 
results for the second round are as follows: 
 
MB.....................12 seats 
NDP....................4 seats 
Independents...........1 seat 
 
There will be 122 runoffs on November 26.  MB members will 
compete in 41 of these races. 
 
 
RICCIARDONE