EGYPTIAN POLITICS; EDUCATION OF JOE BIDEN WHETHER PRESIDENT MUBARAK IS A DICTATOR...LEARN SOMETHING JOE..HE IS A RUTHLESS DICTATOR!!

Egyptian Politics...some facts behind the headlines

Our country is constantly exposed to the opinions of the dumbest man ever to hold the title of Vice President, Joe "three letter word JOBS" Biden. Last week he stated that MUBARAK is not a dictator ( see the unlimited powers he wanted and got in the article below). And then decide if he is a dictator.

How is it possible that our great country is lead by such brainiacs like Joe Biden???

Buildings burned in Cairo and tanks deployed in the streets on January 28, 2011 as anti-government protesters defied a nighttime curfew Friday evening, capping the most violent and chaotic day in Egypt since mass demonstrations began Tuesday. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak extended the curfew nationwide but it appeared from media reports to do little to halt the violence.

In Washington, the White House urged "strong restraint" on the part of government and protesters. Demonstrators, believed to be in the tens of thousands, are demanding Mr. Mubarak's resignation.

The Egyptian ruler ordered his Cabinet to step down and promised to appoint a new Cabinet Saturday. He also said the days of protests this week were a plot to destabilize Egypt. In Washington, President Barack Obama, in an address from the White House Friday evening, asked the Egyptian government to refrain from violence against peaceful protesters and restore Internet and communication services that have been cut off.

On 25 January 2011 Egyptian police fired tear gas and beat anti-government protesters to clear thousands of people from a central Cairo square, after the largest demonstrations in years against President Hosni Mubarak's decades-old rule. Three people were reported to have died in the nationwide unrest inspired by Tunisia's uprising. Two protesters were killed during a demonstration in the port city of Suez while a police officer died from injuries sustained during the protests in Cairo.

Such a coordinated wave of anti-government protests has not been seen in Egypt since Mr. Mubarak took power in 1981 after former President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by Islamists. Egyptians called for political and economic reforms in rallies inspired by demonstrations in Tunisia that led to the ouster of that country's president earlier this month. The unrest took place despite government warnings that demonstrators could be arrested.

The greatest threat to domestic stability in Egypt results from popular frustration with the country’s economic performance and lack of economic opportunity. Approximately one-fifth of Egypt’s 80 million people live below the poverty line, despite a per capita GDP of almost $6,200 [2010 PPP estimate]. Officially, unemployment rates rose from 7.9 percent in 1999/2000 to 9.7 percent in 2010; independent estimates, however, place the real extent of unemployment at somewhere between twelve and twenty-five percent of the labor force.

In 2010, the government spent more on infrastructure and public projects, and exports drove GDP growth to more than 5%, but GDP growth in 2011 is unlikely to bounce back to pre-global financial recession levels, when it stood at 7%. Despite the relatively high levels of economic growth over the past few years, living conditions for the average Egyptian remain poor.

A declared state of emergency has been in place since 1981. The state of emergency allows internal security services to renew periods of "administrative detention" indefinitely. Egyptian human rights organizations estimated in 2007 that 4,000 to 5,000 people remained in prolonged detention without charge under the law, though Minister of Interior Habib Al Adly stated that the total number of political prisoners and detainees does not exceed 1,800.

There were varied and conflicting estimates of the number of "extraordinary detainees" (citizens held by the government, often without trial, for alleged political crimes). In 2006, credible domestic and international NGOs estimated that there were between 6,000 and 10,000 such detainees in addition to the prisoners in the ordinary criminal justice system. The government held detainees, including many MB activists, for several weeks to several months or longer, and did not permit international humanitarian organizations access to political prisoners.

The National Democratic Party has governed the Arab Republic of Egypt since 1978. In 2005 President Hosni Mubarak won a fifth consecutive six-year term with 88 percent of the vote in the country's first presidential election, which was marred by low voter turnout and charges of fraud. The government's respect for human rights remained poor, and serious abuses continued in many areas. Significant human rights problems included limitations on citizens' ability to change the government; a continued state of emergency, in place almost continuously since 1967; persistent and credible reports of abuse and torture at police stations and in prisons; and police violence against protestors.

The government's respect for freedoms of the press, association, and religion declined in 2008, and the government continued to restrict other civil liberties. Arbitrary arrests and detentions, poor prison conditions, pressure on the judiciary, a lack of transparency, and societal discrimination against women and religious minorities persisted.

Opposition party organizations make their views public and represent their followers at various levels in the political system, but power is concentrated in the hands of the President and the National Democratic Party majority in the People's Assembly and those institutions dominate the political system. In addition to the ruling National Democratic Party, there are 18 other legally recognized parties, whereas in 2004 there were only 16 other legally recognized parties.
November 2000 Elections

The November 2000 elections were generally considered to have been more transparent and better executed than past elections, because of universal judicial monitoring of polling stations. On the other hand, opposition parties continue to lodge credible complaints about electoral manipulation by the government. There are significant restrictions on the political process and freedom of expression for non-governmental organizations, including professional syndicates and organizations promoting respect for human rights.

The Egyptian Government ignored the consensus that existed outside its own constituency, concerning the three reforms needed to make Egypt's democratic transformation as a realistic project: (1) limiting the term of office as well as the powers vested in the President as head of the executive; (2) rescinding the state of emergency; and (3) changing the laws obstructing the establishment and functioning of political parties and NGOs. The major dilemma of Egypt's democratic transformation is the absence of viable opposition movements with broad constituencies. The four major opposition parties — Al Wafd, Unionist, Arab Nasserist, and Al Ghad Parties — are structurally weak and lack constituencies large enough to mobilize popular support.

Ten other small parties are active, but their numbers and basic relevance is inconsequential.

September 2005 Presidential Election

Progress was seen in the September 2005 presidential elections when parties were allowed to field candidates against President Mubarak and his National Democratic Party. In early 2005, President Mubarak proposed amending the constitution to allow, for the first time in Egypt's history, competitive, multi-candidate elections. An amendment was drafted by parliament and approved by public referendum in late May 2005. In the course of his re-election campaign speeches, Mubarak promised to reduce the powers of the presidency in favour of the cabinet and the parliament, which would be granted greater powers of oversight. He also promised a number of constitutional and legal reforms to enable wider opposition representation in parliament. In September 2005, President Mubarak was reelected, according to official results, with 88% of the vote.

His two principal challengers, Ayman Nour and No'man Gom'a, took 7% and 3% of the vote respectively. Runner-up in the 2005 presidential election and leader of the opposition Al-Ghad (Tomorrow) Party Ayman Nour was jailed for nearly four years on forgery charges said by his supporters to be fabricated. Nour remained in prison at the end of 2008, despite continued appeals for parole on health and humanitarian grounds. The New Cairo Felonies Court convicted Nour in 2005.

For the first time in Egyptian history, opposition candidate’s names appeared on the ballot, and some campaigning by candidates was permitted. Previously, the Egyptian Parliament would vote to permit only one name to go forward on the Presidential ballot, and then voters would be given the option only of voting “yes” or “no” to the chosen candidate, who was typically the incumbent President.
November-December 2005 Parliamentary Election

The promises of gradual political reform suffered setbacks in the three-round parliamentary election held from November to December 2005. While the elections resulted in massive gains for the opposition, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, they also witnessed widespread election violations. In the end, opposition representatives ended up winning almost 100 of the 444 elected seats in the People’s Assembly, up from only 40 in the outgoing assembly. Of these, 88 were won by candidates affiliated with the Brotherhood. The voter turnout turned out to be extremely low. According to official or govern-ment statements, 23 percent. Independent NGOs and monitoring groups, domestic moni-toring groups, put it somewhere between 15 and 18 percent.

Voting – especially in the third and final election round – was marred by reports of widespread intimidation and violent clashes between voters and security forces, with voters repeatedly prevented from gaining access to polling stations by security agents. In areas where opposition candidates were likely to win, polling areas were cordoned off from the public. In some voting districts, after would-be voters protested, police responded by firing tear gas canisters and rubber bullets into crowds, bringing the total number of election-related deaths to 12. In the end, the ruling NDP was left with some 315 seats, noticeably fewer than the 388 representatives it controlled in the outgoing assembly, but still above the two-thirds majority needed to control legislation. The weakness of the secular opposition parties was driven home when they won a total of only 14 seats between them. This included the neo-liberal Wafd Party, traditionally referred to as Egypt’s strongest opposition party.

“While the Egyptian elections did not meet internationally recognized standards of fairness, the mere fact that the regime allowed the opposition a place on the ballot has opened a doorway,” said U.S. Helsinki Commission Chairman, Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS). “The Egyptian elections were the first step on a long road to creating a true democracy, but it remains to be seen whether the regime will walk the rest of the path.”
April 2008 Local Election

In March 2007, Mubarak introduced several constitutional amendments that would increase presidential powers and, more significantly, ban any political parties based on religion, race, or ethnicity. The amendments were put to a popular referendum and, despite low voter turnout and boycotts by opposition groups, passed with 75.9% approval.

On 17 February 2008, President Mubarak announced that local council elections would take place 08 April 2008. Local councils are responsible for implementing legislation and monitoring daily local functions of the government municipalities. Many opposition candidates from registered political parties and the Muslim Brotherhood [MB] reported difficulties registering and alleged a government campaign to prevent opposition candidates from participating in the elections. More than 3,000 MB candidates prevented from registering sued the government. Although the courts ruled in favor of the MB candidates in 2,664 suits, the majority of the rulings were not implemented. On April 7, following weeks of arrests and official hurdles placed in the way of candidate registration, the MB called on citizens to join it in "boycotting this fraudulent process." On April 8, the local elections took place in 26 governorates where candidates contested approximately 52,000 total seats. There were 57,000 candidates in total, of whom 52,000 were NDP members. Independent observers estimated that the voter turnout was less than 3 percent. NDP candidates won 92 percent of the seats, and the rest went to the liberal Wafd party. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace described the elections as "a step backwards for Egyptian politics".
2008-2009 Parliamentary By-elections

In July 2008 the country held parliamentary by-elections for four vacant parliament seats in Kafr Al Sheikh and Alexandria. MB-affiliated candidates ran for three of the seats, but the NDP won all four. The MB subsequently accused the government of rigging the vote to favor the NDP. The four seats had been vacant since a legal challenge during the 2005 parliamentary election, which international monitors were not permitted to observe. The government also barred international observers from the 2005 presidential election, which was marred by low voter turnout and charges of fraud. In October 2008 the country held parliamentary by-elections for two seats in Fayoum (Utssa Constituency). The NDP won both contested seats, which had been vacant since a legal challenge during the 2005 parliamentary election.

In February 2009 the country held parliamentary by-elections for one seat in Minya (Samalout), which became vacant following the death of an NDP member of parliament. The NDP candidate won the seat. In March 2009 and May 2009, there were parliamentary by-elections for a seat in Cairo (Masr El Qadima Constituency) and another in Alexandria (Moharram Bek Constituency), which became vacant following the death of an NDP member of parliament. The NDP candidate won the seat. In August 2009 there were parliamentary by-elections for two vacant seats in Qaliuybia, and the NDP won both seats.
December 2010 Parliamentary Election

On 06 December 2010 election monitors in Egypt said widespread fraud marred the country's parliamentary election that produced a landslide victory for President Hosni Mubarak's party. The Independent Coalition for Elections' Observation said that voting violations, including forgery, raise serious questions about the legitimacy of the new parliament. But Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif described the process as "the best in Egypt's election history." The country's two major opposition groups, the Muslim Brotherhood and the liberal Wafd party, boycotted the second round run-off in protest of alleged fraud in last week's first round. The Muslim Brotherhood failed to win a single seat outright in the first round of balloting, although the group won about one-fifth of the seats in the 2005 elections. The group is outlawed in Egypt, but runs its candidates as independents. Mr. Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party [NDP] captured 209 seats outright in the first round of voting. That left 283 seats to be decided in the second round.

The NDP continued to dominate national politics by maintaining an overriding majority in the People's Assembly and the Shura Council. It also dominated local governments, mass media, labor, and the public sector and controlled licensing of new political parties, newspapers, and private organizations. The law prohibits political parties based on religion, and the MB remained an illegal organization; however, independent MB-affiliated members of parliament continued to participate in parliament. In previous years the government refused to grant official registration to at least 12 political parties that had filed applications. In August 2009 the political parties committee rejected the Al-Wasat Party's application for registration.

Now, Joe is MUBARAK a dictator????