Election week

Monday, November 28, 2011: The polls are open in Egypt’s first elections post-Mubarek. The polls are open for this area today and tomorrow—they added a day in case of long lines—and so far, so good. But the electoral process here is Byzantine in its complexity, and parliamentary elections continue through January, after which come the presidential elections. Take a look at this site for an idea of how it works:

http://www.egyptdailynews.com/

Because a number of voters can not read, candidates have symbols that appear on the ballots, ranging from a teddy bear to a salt shaker, a key, a DVR player, a flower, an 8-sided star, and pretty much everything else. The laws also require that half of the elected members be either union workers or peasants (own less than 4.3 hectares of land), an element of social engineering designed to keep the rich from dominating; members of the National Democratic Party, the former party of Mubarek, may also be challenged if elected. Elections are staggered across the country because voting stations must be supervised by a judge, and there are not enough judges in Egypt for a single electoral day.

Keeping order in the long lines

Proof of voting!

The Islamist parties are expected to win the most seats. My students say it’s because illiterates will vote the way their imam tells them to vote; they also tell me many are thinking of boycotting the elections since they are designed so poorly that the results will be a sham. I tell them that if you don’t vote, you can’t complain, but they do point out that I come from a country with a long tradition of elections and “know” how to do it. They have a point. However, they also tell me that if you don’t vote, you will be fined 500LE.

I’ve found the newsfeed from the U.K. paper, The Guardian, to be the most useful. They use a combination of on-the-street reporters like Jack Shenker, bloggers, and tweets to create rich stories. For a lucid view of the elections, see Shenker’s article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/22/egyptian-elections-key-questions-answered?newsfeed=true

Proud wearer of my name pendent

"Mary" in Arabic

Thursday, December 1, 2011: It looks pretty good for Egypt so far—my students are brimming with pride at having voted, and we are hearing that the appointments for the new cabinet have popular support. Speaking of my students, they really surprised me yesterday. My 8:30AM class is rough on them (to say they are not larks is an understatement) and often the class discussion lags. I figured it was because my teaching was poor. Now I think it’s really the hour. After class yesterday, a group of them hung around, hemming and hawing, after class until one spoke up. “Doctor Mary, we got you a present.” It was silver pendant on a black silk cord with my name (Mary) in Arabic punched out. The M and Y are very graceful, and I was touched and tickled, and wear it with pride. 

Our tree with a dimmed flash

We also got a Christmas tree today, a lovely Norfolk Island pine in a pot, little white lights, and silver ornaments from the best local nursery in Ma’adi, Mohammed Saeid. I created wire hangers from paper clips (ornament hangers are one thing you can’t find here), and had a blast festooning the tree. When Bruce, the kids, and Andrew come, our flat will have some Christmas spirit. I also heard about an ornament someone swears can be found of Santa nailed to a cross. My students tell me it’s an urban myth because Muslim kids love Santa (any gift port in a storm!), and everyone knows it was Jesus, not Santa Claus. Should I find one, I’ll let you know, but it does sound too funny to be true. 

Tree in context

Next week is mostly work and no play (I know, tiny violin playing sad song), so I will probably wait to post again until there’s something worth writing. Owing to the elections, the university has jiggered class days around, and it happens that I will be on campus Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, through the 11^th—after which my classes are over until the end of January when the spring term begins (cue more sad violin music). Applause to Egypt in the meantime; elections are real, and people are participating. It’s nothing short of historic!