VZCZCXRO4860
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #0833 1131615
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221615Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9007
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS CAIRO 000833 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR PASCUAL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM KISL EG
SUBJECT: LOCAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS: UNOFFICIAL RESULTS 
 
REF: A. CAIRO 389 
     ¶B. CAIRO 495 
     ¶C. CAIRO 677 
     ¶D. CAIRO 693 
     ¶E. CAIRO 720 
 
Sensitive but unclassified. Not for Internet distribution. 
 
¶1. (SBU) To date, no official nationwide results have been 
announced in Egypt's April 8 local council elections. 
Reportedly, results are being released governorate by 
governorate, and will be finalized nationally next week. 
With only 962 opposition candidates on the ballot 
country-wide, out of the 52,000 seats up for election, even 
without formal results, there is no doubt that the ruling 
National Democratic Party "won" a resounding victory.  The 
press, and our contacts at various opposition parties, report 
that the liberal Wafd party won 238 seats (out of 507 
candidates on the ballot), the socialist Taggamu party won 
125 seats (out of 415 candidates on the ballot), the liberal 
Democratic Front Party won 6 seats (out of 18 on the ballot), 
the Nasserite party won 14 seats, and the Moussa Mustafa 
Moussa wing of the Al Ghad party won 6 seats.  The Muslim 
Brotherhood (MB), which at the last minute decided to boycott 
the elections due to its only being allowed to register 20 
candidates (ref D), won no seats. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Our opposition and NGO contacts consider the flawed 
process surrounding the local elections - especially the 
barring of thousands of opposition candidates, Islamist and 
secular, from registering - as a worrisome indicator of what 
to expect for the 2010 People's Assembly and Shoura Council 
elections.  Independent parliamentarians in particular are 
concerned; one told us the local council elections were a 
"dress rehearsal for the 2010 parliamentary elections, when 
the government will ensure that the ruling party sweeps 
parliament, and there are far fewer irksome oppositionists in 
the legislature." 
 
¶3. (SBU) In addition to showcasing the government's 
diminished tolerance for electoral competition from the MB 
and secular oppositionists, the April 8 contests also 
guaranteed that, under the current constitution, the MB will 
not be able to field a candidate in the next presidential 
election (currently planned for 2011).  Constitutional 
article 76 states that an independent presidential candidate 
must obtain endorsements from 250 elected members of Egypt's 
national and local representative bodies, of which there must 
be a minimum of 65 endorsements from members of the People's 
Assembly, 25 from the Shura Council, and 10 from local 
councils in at least 14 governorates.  Not having won any 
seats on the local councils effectively bars the MB from 
using this backdoor to contest the presidency. 
 
SCOBEY