Partners for Transparency PFT issued its initial report on monitoring the electoral spending of parliament candidates in a number of governorates, as part of the initiative “Our Voices Against Your Money”, from September to December 2015.

The initiative aims to come up with general indicators about the nature of electoral financing and spending in the Egyptian elections, and to establish new, scalable tools that can be used extensively later to help civil society organizations, the National Elections Authority, the media and parties to monitor, control and regulate the use of money in the electoral process.

This "preliminary" report deals with a quantitative analysis of the results of field monitoring carried out by the "Our Voices Against Your Money" initiative team in three electoral districts in the governorates of the second phase of the parliamentary elections, the first round of which was held on November 22 and 23, namely, the eastern districts in Port Said, Maadi in Cairo, Bandar. Mansoura, Dakahlia.

The monitoring process relied on collecting information from various sources, the most important of which is communicating with the candidate or one of his electoral campaign members, as well as monitoring the manifestations and activities of the electoral campaign for each candidate, in addition to collecting field certificates from voters registered in the electoral district.

Constituency No. 19 is based in the Maadi Division, and includes both the Maadi Division, the Tora Division, and it has one electoral seat in the next House of Representatives. The number of its electors is about 300 votes. The constituency witnessed 23 candidates competing between 5 party candidates, 18 independent candidates, and among the most prominent candidates In the district, “Hussein Megawer,” the deputy of the National Party before the January 25 Revolution, Hafez Abu Saada, a member of the National Council for Human Rights and a candidate for the Conservative Party, and Zakaria Nassif, a former Al-Ahly player and a candidate for the Free Egyptians Party, “was excluded by the Supreme Elections Committee before Conducting the first round of the second phase of the parliamentary elections, ”in addition to Sharif Al-Secretary, a member of the local council in the district who ran in my round (2005-2011).

The constituency No. 1, based in the first division of Port Fouad, includes the first and second divisions of Port Fouad, Sharq al-Tafra'a, al-Sharq, and the Arabs, and it has one electoral seat in the House of Representatives, and the constituency includes 31 candidates, to win the electoral seat divided between 24 independent candidates, and 7 candidates for political parties, Among the most prominent candidates in the constituency, “Abd al-Rahman Basla,” the Wafd candidate, “Eng. Amina Al-Omari,” “Dr. Mahmoud Hegazy, Secretary of the Nour Party in Port Said,” “Mahmoud Hussein”, the candidate of the Future Nation Party, “Bayoumi Al-Masry”, the candidate of the Free Egyptians Party.

The constituency No. 1 is based in the Mansoura district. It includes both the first and second sections of Mansoura. It has 3 seats in the next parliament, and the constituency includes 53 candidates to win the three seats in the parliamentary elections, divided between 8 party candidates, 45 independent candidates, and among the most prominent candidates in The Chamber: “Nabil El-Gamal”, the lawyer in the cassation, Major General “Salah Samak”, “Muhammad Rashad”, “Jaco Samuel”, “Nabil Abu Warda”, “Ahmed Hammad”, “Enas Ibrahim Metwally” the Free Egyptians Party candidate, “Awad al-Shibh” candidate Watan's Future Party, “Numan Samir” is a young journalist and director of the office of Al-Shorouk newspaper in Dakahlia.

November 1- 7: The Nineteenth Constituency, Maadi District, the campaign of the candidate, Abdul Rahman Al-Sawy, hung banners in front of the educational administration building in Maadi “Exploiting government facilities”.

November 2 - 7: The Nineteenth Constituency, Maadi District, the campaign of the candidate Zakaria Nasif published an advertisement for him on the pictures of the Tora Al Balad Elementary Institute Al Azhari "Exploitation of Governmental Buildings."

November 3-7: The Nineteenth Constituency, Maadi District, the “Candidate Hussam Al-Rifai” and “Hatem Abdel Hadi” campaign spread propaganda on the subway fences at Tora station, “Exploiting government buildings.”

November 4- 7: The Nineteenth Constituency, Maadi District, the campaign of the candidate Husam Al-Rifai spread propaganda on the walls of the Tora Elementary Elementary Institute Al-Azhari “Exploitation of government buildings”

November 5 - 9: The Nineteenth Constituency, Maadi and Tora District. Candidate Hussam al-Rifai’s campaign hung banners on the walls of the subway station, Maadi Gardens, “Exploiting Public Facilities”.

1. November 1, 2015: The First District, the Sharq District, located in the First District of Port Fouad, the candidate Abd al-Rahman Basala held a meeting to put the final touches to the launch of his election campaign "Early Propaganda".

2.- November 1, 2015: The First District, the Sharq Department, located in the First Division of Port Fouad. Candidate Ihab Dahi, Ahmed Abu Al-Majd, and Imad Ishaq paid sponsored ads on the website of Generation Al-Thawra newspaper, "Early Propaganda".

November 3 - 2, 2015: The First District, the East Department, located in the First Division in Port Fouad, candidate Mahmoud Rasmy hung his “early propaganda” banners.

4. November 2, 2015: The First District, the East Department, located in the First Division of Port Fouad. Candidate Ali Al-Feki held an election meeting in a café for "early propaganda".

5.- November 11, 2015: The First District, the Sharq Department, located in the First Department of Port Fouad, candidate Mahmoud Hussein affixed propaganda banners on the walls of the Great Mosque in Maadiyat Square, “propaganda - the use of a religious facility.”

6- 12 November 2015: The First Circuit, the East Department, located in the First Division of Port Fouad, candidate Mahmoud Rasmi hung propaganda posters on the walls of the Court of Appeal in Port Fouad, and it is known that the court building was built antique, as it was the mixed court in the era of the British occupation. - Exploiting a facility.

7- 14 November 2015: The First District, the Sharq Department, located in the First Division in Fouad. Candidate Emad Ishaq published photos of him with the priest Salib and Sheikh Ibrahim Lotfi “Propaganda - the exploitation of clerics”.

1. Sunday November 1, 2015: The First District, Mansoura City District, First and Second Divisions of Mansoura. Candidate Noaman Samir held a session with some of the people of Nakhla Street to present his election program "early propaganda".

2. Monday November 2, 2015: The First District, Mansoura City District, First and Second Divisions of Mansoura, "Candidate Jaco Samuel Gerges" presented his electoral program on his personal page on the social networking site Facebook, "early electoral propaganda."

3. Saturday 7 November 2015: The First District, Mansoura City District, First and Second Division Mansoura, “Candidate Numan Samir” held a session at the Nile Club with some of the constituency’s youth. The session was attended by Reda al-Gharabawi, the head of the farmers ’association, who declared his support for the candidate“ exploiting union figures “.

4. Saturday November 7, 2015: The First District, Mansoura City District, First and Second Division Mansoura, “Candidate Lotfi Mohamed Lotfy” used sweepers to draw water from the streets, which were caused by the heavy rain, “electoral bribes”.

5. Friday November 13, 2015: The First District, Mansoura City District, First and Second Divisions of Mansoura, “Candidate Nabil El-Gamal” held a session within the Bar Association to present his electoral program to the union’s members “Exploiting trade union facilities.”

1. Dakahlia governorate, Mansoura district, Al-Zazia school. Supporters of “Candidate Nabil Al-Jamal” influence the voters in front of the polling station to vote for their candidate, at 11:30 pm.

2. Dakahlia Governorate, Mansoura District, Al-Ayoubi School for Girls. Supporters of “Candidate Wahid Fouda” rented 4 thugs to influence the voters in front of the polling station to choose their candidate, at 12 noon.

3. Dakahlia governorate, Mansoura district, Gad Al-Haq preparatory school. Supporters of “Candidate Wahid Fouda” directed the voters in front of the polling station in favor of their candidate at 1 pm.

4. Dakahlia governorate, Mansoura district, Al-Malek Al-Kamel school. Candidate Muhammad Al-Gohary influences the voters to choose him by accompanying them inside the committees, at exactly 7:55 pm.

5. Dakahlia Governorate, Mansoura District, Gulangil Primary School. Supporters of candidates “Muhammad Rashad, Wahid Fouda, Awad Al-Sabq” distributed sums of money to voters in front of the polling station to urge voters to choose their candidates, at 10:30 in the morning.

6. Dakahlia governorate, Mansoura district, Gulenjeel school, “Candidate Muhammad Al-Barbari” and his supporters direct the voters in front of the polling station to choose him.

7. Dakahlia governorate, Mansoura district, Gulenjeel school, when supporters of the Nour Party directed women voters to choose their list in front of the polling station.

8. Dakahlia governorate, Mansoura district, Gulenjeel school. Supporters of the candidates “Muhammad Al-Barbari, Ahmed Salama Al-Sharqawi” assemble the voters at your tactics and then accompany them to the polling station to select their candidates at 12 noon.

9. Dakahlia governorate, Mansoura district, Al Askaria School for Boys, “Candidate Hisham Al Daoudi,” directing the voters in front of the polling station for his choice.

10. Dakahlia governorate, Mansoura district, Al Zahraa school. Supporters of “Candidate Muhammad Rashad Ghoneim” paid voters near the polling station to select their candidate.

1. Port Said Governorate, Sharq District, Al-Qanat Elementary School. Candidate Mahmoud Hussein brought a bus to transport voters to the committees.

2. Port Said Governorate, Sharq District, Port Fouad Youth Center, statements about the delegates of "candidate Mahmoud Hussein", the candidate of the Future Nation Party, distributing sums of money in the amount of 300 pounds to the electoral vote.

1. Cairo - Maadi, Maadi Secondary School for Boys, the presence of cars to transport voters and electoral propaganda for the “For the Love of Egypt” list by Akmal Kartam.

2. Cairo - Maadi, the Maadi Gardens Experimental School, the running of angel cars with electoral propaganda for the Independence Movement in the vicinity of the district.

This part is based on information provided by the candidate himself or one of his election campaign officials, and it is calculated for the candidates of the East District in Port Said that they were more open to observers, and most of them made statements, and according to what they themselves decided “which we could not infer with tangible evidence other than the candidate’s statement.” All the candidates had records to record accounts, and 97% of them used to have a chartered accountant. Regarding donations, the vast majority of them did not receive cash or in-kind donations (97%, 87%), and the 77% of them were the main source of funding for his election campaign.

The data indicate that about 19% of the East Circle candidates practiced early publicity for the specified legal period, and 6% of them used houses of worship for propaganda, and the same percentage used government facilities, while only 3% used civil organizations in the advertising process.

The data indicate that 3% candidates in the East constituency in Port Said bribed voters, in material or in kind form, or promised to provide this bribe, while the 97% did not commit this violation.

This axis is considered the most negative for the candidates of the East constituency in Port Said, as all the candidates (100%) did not announce their bank account number, the sources of financing their campaign, or the size of their electoral spending.

The monitoring process in this department included 39 candidates, while the rest of the candidates could not be reached.

This part is based on information provided by the candidate himself or one of his election campaign officials, and many candidates from Bandar Al Mansoura district refused to answer their questions, and according to what some candidates decided to answer, “which we could not deduce by tangible evidence other than the candidate’s statement. ”, Only 26% of the candidates have records to record accounts, and 31 % of the candidates do not have records to record accounts, while 43% of the candidates refused to answer the question, 26 % of the candidates did not use a chartered accountant, and the rest of the 74% candidates refused to answer the question. As for donations, 28% of the candidates did not receive cash donations, and the rest of the 72% candidates refused to answer the question, while 13% of the candidates received in-kind donations, 15 % candidates did not receive in-kind donations, while 72% candidates refused to answer the question, and 92 % 92 Of the candidates, personal resources were the main source of financing for his election campaign.

The data indicate that about 36% of Bandar Al Mansoura constituency candidates practiced early publicity for the specified legal period, and 3% of them used houses of worship in propaganda, and the same percentage used civil organizations, while 10% used government facilities in the advertising process.

The data indicate that there are 13 % candidates in Bandar Al-Mansoura district, who bribed the voters in material form, while 8% of the candidates offered bribes in kind, while 13% of the candidates made promises to distribute financial or in-kind bribes.

This axis is considered the most negative for candidates from Bandar Al-Mansoura constituency, as all the candidates (100%) did not announce their bank account number, while 2.5 % of the candidates announced the sources of campaign financing, and none of the candidates announced the size of the electoral spending.

The monitoring process included 20 candidates, while no complete information was reached on two of the candidates.

This part is based on information provided by the candidate himself or one of his election campaign officials, and according to what the candidates decided to answer in the Maadi district (which we could not infer with concrete evidence other than the candidate’s statement), only 15% of the candidates had records to record accounts, and 45 % of the candidates did not have records to record accounts, while 40% of the candidates refused to answer the question, 10 % of the candidates used a chartered accountant in their election campaigns, while 50% of the candidates did not use a chartered accountant, and 40 % of the other candidates refused to answer the question, as for For donations, 45% candidates received material donations, 15 % did not receive cash donations, 40% candidates refused to answer the question, 10% candidates received in-kind donations, 50 % candidates did not receive in-kind donations, and 40% candidates refused to answer the question In addition, 60% candidates were the main source of funding for his election campaign, and 401TTP1T of them were other resources to finance their election campaigns.

The data of the following table indicate, that about 45 % candidates from Maadi Department practiced early publicity for the specified legal period, 15% of them used houses of worship for propaganda, and 45 % candidates used civil organizations, while 20% of the candidates used government facilities In the advertising process.

The data indicate that none of the Maadi candidates offered financial bribes to voters, while 10% of the candidates distributed in-kind bribes to citizens, and 5% of the candidates made promises to distribute financial or in-kind bribes.

This axis is considered the most negative for Maadi candidates, as all the candidates (100%) did not announce their bank account number, while 5% of the candidates announced the sources of campaign financing, and none of the candidates announced the size of the electoral spending.

In the end, the results collected from three electoral districts in the governorates of Cairo, Port Said, and Dakahlia indicated the continuation of a number of negative practices that were monitored during the first phase, most notably the absence of the element of transparency and disclosure among the overwhelming majority of the candidates, as all candidates - with rare exceptions - They were not interested in announcing the size of their electoral spending or the sources of financing their election campaign, even though this is an inherent right of the voter.

Regarding campaign financing sources, the results showed that personal resources were the main source for the vast majority of candidates, which indicates that the rich were the most candidates, while the opportunities for the poor who did not have financial resources to enable them to spend on their election campaigns decreased, especially In light of the lack of opportunities to obtain support through political parties or legal donations.

The results also revealed that the candidates for the East Department in Port Said were the most responsive to the monitoring team, while the candidates for the Maadi Department in Cairo and Mansoura in Dakahlia were the least responsive, and the majority of them refused to make statements to the monitoring team.