Corruption : Government elections and officials

    Corruption in government elections

   Accusations of corruption, force to not vote, and manipulation of the election results have occurred during many of the elections over the past 30 years. Until 2005, Mubarak was the only candidate to run for the presidency, on a yes/no vote. Mubarak has won five consecutive presidential elections with a sweeping majority. Opposition groups and international election monitoring agencies have accused the elections of being arranged. These agencies have not been allowed to monitor the elections. The only opposing presidential candidate in recent Egyptian history, Ayman Nour, was imprisoned before the 2005 elections.

Thousands of protesters gathered around to against the government

Corruption among government officials

Political corruption in Mubarak administration's Ministry of Interior rose dramatically due to the increased level of control over the institutional system necessary to prolong the presidency. The rise to power of powerful businessmen in the NDP, in the government, and in the People's Assembly led to massive waves of anger during the years of Prime Ministers Ahmed Nazif's government.The perception among Egyptians was that the only people to benefit from the nation's wealth were businessmen with ties to the National Democratic Party; "wealth fuels political power and political power buys wealth." During the Egyptian parliamentary election, 2010, opposition groups complained of harassment and fraud perpetrated by the government. Opposition and civil society activists have called for changes to a number of legal and constitutional provisions which affect elections.

Emergency law enforcement: Extended police powers

Egyptian fight for their rights! They want their voices to be heard!

Emergency law (Law of 162 0f 1958) was enacted after 1967 Six-Day War. This law stated that police powers are extended, constitutional rights suspended, censorship is permitted and government has rights to imprison individuals without reason. Under this law, any non-government political activity is limited which includes street demonstrations, non-approved political organizations, and unregistered financial donations. Because of the threat of terrorism towards the government,  Mubarak’s government decided to apply this law onto opposition groups like Ikhwanul Muslimin.

                Police powers are extended doesn’t mean that they are good in doing their jobs. Mubarak regime has denied there is existence of torture or abuse carried out by the police. However, many claim that there are cases of police abuse based on evidence through cellphone video.The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights reported and documented 567 cases of torture, including 167 deaths, by police that occurred between 1993 and 2007. Excessive force was often used by law enforcement agencies. The police forces constantly flattened democratic uprisings with brutal force and corrupt tactics. A rally is set up in 2010 in Alexandria against the police because they are allegedly abusing Khaled Mohamed Saeed. Many witnesses that he was beaten to death and died under disputed circumstances.

 During the January — February 2011 protests, police brutality was high in response to the protests. Jack Shenker, a reporter for The Guardian, was arrested during the mass protests in Cairo on 26 January 2011 and he witnessed fellow Egyptian protesters being tortured, assaulted, and taken to undisclosed locations by police officers.