By Mohammed Baali
Albawaba.com - Cairo
Several Egyptian human rights organizations and opposition parties have agreed to jointly monitor this month’s labor unions elections, in a bid to "head off anticipated fraud by the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP)."
Hisham Mubarak’s Law Center, a human rights body, on Friday hosted the preliminary meeting of a coordination committee formed to discuss union election-rigging, which the rights activists and opposition leaders allege is a regular event.
In addition to many representatives from human rights organizations, the meeting was attended by members of the leftist Assembly Party and a faction of the Labor Party.
Those present attributed the violations to intervention by Egyptian security authorities in favor of the NDP.
They also identified two other factors conducive to fraud: widespread worker illiteracy and intimidation by employers.
The participants agreed on the importance of coordinating efforts to protect the freedoms guaranteed to candidates by the Egyptian law and Constitution.
They decided to confront the problem by providing legal aid, media savvy and training for candidates who face unfair practices in their races - Albawaba.com
