[Pages H12179-H12182]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO THE 2005 ELECTIONS IN
EGYPT

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree
to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 284) expressing the sense of
Congress with respect to the 2005 presidential and parliamentary
elections in Egypt, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:

H. Con. Res. 284

Whereas promoting freedom and democracy is a foreign policy
and national security priority of the United States;
Whereas free, fair, and transparent elections constitute a
foundation of any meaningful democracy;
Whereas Egypt is the largest Arab nation comprising over
half the Arab world's population;
Whereas Congress has long supported Egypt as a partner for
peace and stands ready to support Egypt's emergence as a
democracy and free market economy;
Whereas a successful democracy in Egypt would definitely
dispel the notion that democracy cannot succeed in the Arab
Muslim world;
Whereas in his 2005 State of the Union Address, President
George W. Bush stated that ``the great and proud nation of
Egypt, which showed the way toward peace in the Middle East,
can now show the way toward democracy in the Middle East'';
Whereas in her June 20, 2005, remarks at the American
University in Cairo, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
stated: ``[T]he Egyptian Government must fulfill the promise
it has made to its people--and to the entire world--by giving
its citizens the freedom to choose. Egypt's elections,
including the Parliamentary elections, must meet objective
standards that define every free election.'';
Whereas on February 26, 2005, Egyptian President Mubarak
proposed to amend the Egyptian Constitution to allow for
Egypt's first ever multi-candidate presidential election;
Whereas in May 2005, President Bush stated that Egypt's
presidential election should proceed with international
monitors and with rules that allow for a real campaign;
Whereas Egypt prohibited international monitoring in the
presidential election, calling such action an infringement on
its national sovereignty;
Whereas domestic monitoring of the election became a major
point of contention between the government, the judiciary,
and civil society organizations;
Whereas in May 2005, the Judges Club, an unofficial union
for judges, took the provisional decision to boycott the
election if their demand for a truly independent judiciary
was not met;

[[Page H12180]]

Whereas the Judges Club initially insisted that the 9,000
to 10,000 judges were in no position to monitor the election
if plans proceeded for polling at 54,000 stations on one day;
Whereas the government responded to their demands by
grouping polling stations to decrease their number to about
10,000, more or less matching the number of available judges;
Whereas on September 2, 2005, a majority of the general
assembly of the Judges Club decided that the judges would
supervise the election and report any irregularities;
Whereas several coalitions of Egyptian civil society
organizations demanded access to polling stations on election
day and successfully secured court rulings granting them such
access;
Whereas the Presidential Election Council, citing its
constitutional authority to oversee the election process,
reportedly ignored the court order for several days, before
they granted some nongovernmental organizations access to
polling stations a few hours before the polls opened;
Whereas the presidential campaign ran from August 17 to
September 4, 2005;
Whereas the presidential election held on September 7,
2005, was largely peaceful, but reportedly marred by low
turnout, general confusion over election procedures, alleged
manipulation by government authorities, and other
inconsistencies;
Whereas the presidential election was a potentially
important step toward democratic reform in Egypt and a test
of President Mubarak's pledge to open the country's
authoritarian political system;
Whereas Mr. Mubarak promised to allow during the
presidential campaign a free press and independent judiciary,
lift emergency laws that stifle political activity, reduce
presidential powers in favor of a more freely elected
parliament, and allow a slow but steady transition to a
liberal democracy;
Whereas parliamentary elections were held in Egypt in
November and December 2005;
Whereas several local human rights and civil society
organizations issued a joint statement declaring unease over
the Egyptian Government's criticism of independent judges,
stating that the government was trying to deprive the
organizations of the right of free expression;
Whereas reports prepared by judges who monitored the
parliamentary elections indicated that numerous violations
occurred in the second and third rounds of voting, including
the physical prevention of voters from casting their votes,
the closure of roads and streets leading to polling stations,
and assaults on several judges as they oversaw the elections
and protested the security agencies measures to prevent
voters from reaching polling stations;
Whereas other Egyptian nongovernmental election monitors
also have complained that security forces blocked thousands
of eligible voters from entering polling stations during the
parliamentary elections;
Whereas poll monitors and human rights organizations
reported that violence initiated by Egyptian security forces,
coupled with wide-scale arrests, contributed to poor turnout
across the country during the parliamentary elections;
Whereas violence during the parliamentary elections,
including reports of excessive force by Egyptian security
services, resulted in the deaths of several demonstrators and
the wounding of dozens more;
Whereas Ayman Nour, Mr. Mubarak's only serious challenger
in the presidential election, was declared in the
parliamentary elections to have lost his seat--in a Cairo
district that elected him twice before--to a former state
security official with reported ties to President Mubarak;
Whereas it was reported that Mr. Nour, a secular liberal,
was harassed repeatedly by Mr. Mubarak's proxies and
slandered by the Egyptian media, and local election observers
reported numerous irregularities in Mr. Nour's Cairo
district;
Whereas the Egyptian Government's apparent manipulation of
the electoral system resulted in a weakening of the secular
opposition and a strengthening of the Islamist opposition in
Egypt; and
Whereas it is in the national interests of the United
States and Egypt that Egypt be governed by a truly
representative, pluralist, and legitimate national
parliament: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress--
(1) recognizes the presidential election held on September
7, 2005, as a potential first step toward greater political
reforms in Egypt;
(2) expresses grave concern over the widely reported
irregularities during the Egyptian presidential election and
parliamentary elections held in November and December 2005,
including interference by Egyptian security forces, and the
apparent failure of the Government of Egypt to ensure that
the elections were free, fair, and transparent;
(3) calls on the Government of Egypt to take immediate
steps to address these reported violations of the fundamental
freedoms of the Egyptian people and hold those responsible
for such violations accountable;
(4) recognizes that the development of a democratically-
elected representative and empowered Egyptian national
parliament is a fundamental reform needed to permit real
progress toward the rule of law and democracy in Egypt;
(5) calls on the Government of Egypt to separate the
apparatus of the National Democratic Party from the
operations of government, to divest all government holdings
in Egyptian media, and to end the government monopoly over
printing and distribution of newspapers;
(6) calls on the Government of Egypt to repeal the 1977
emergency law which took effect in 1981, as promised by
President Mubarak, and in the development of any future anti-
terrorism legislation to allow peaceful, constitutional
political activities, including public meetings and
demonstrations, and to allow full parliamentary review of any
such legislation;
(7) expresses disappointment over the failure of the
Government of Egypt to ensure that the presidential election
was free, fair, and transparent;
(8) calls on the Government of Egypt, in future elections,
to--
(A) ensure supervision by the judiciary of the election
process across the country and at all levels;
(B) ensure the presence of accredited representatives of
all competing parties and independent candidates at polling
stations and during the vote-counting; and
(C) allow local and international election monitors full
access and accreditation;
(9) urges the President of the United States to take into
account the progress achieved by the Government of Egypt in
meeting the goals outlined in this resolution when
determining--
(A) the type and nature of United States diplomatic
engagement with the Government of Egypt; and
(B) the type and level of assistance to be requested for
the Government of Egypt;
(10) given the responsibility of the Government of Egypt
for the outcome of the 2005 presidential and parliamentary
elections, calls on the Government of Egypt not to use the
strength of the Islamist opposition in Egypt to justify the
failure of the Egyptian Government to comply with its
international human rights obligations or to undertake the
reforms to which it has committed; and
(11) urges the President and other officers of the
Government of the United States to speak with unmistakable
clarity in expressing the disappointment of the people and
Government of the United States with respect to the behavior
of the Government of Egypt during the 2005 presidential and
parliamentary elections.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lantos) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.

General Leave

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on the concurrent
resolution under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise in strong support of House Concurrent Resolution 284, as
amended. Prior to this year's election in Egypt, that country's leader,
Hosni Mubarak, promised to undertake a series of steps toward a slow
but steady transition to a free and democratic society. However, in the
wake of the parliamentary elections it is explicitly clear that those
commitments remain unfulfilled.
This concurrent resolution, initially drafted amid an atmosphere of
hope, had to be updated from the version passed by the House Committee
on International Relations in order to reflect the grave developments
that have taken place and to express congressional disappointment with
the behavior of the Egyptian government and security forces during the
parliamentary elections.
Election monitors complained that polling and counting stations were
blocked and that wide-scale arrests were also used as a means of
manipulating the electoral process. There were reports of excessive
force by Egyptian security services resulting in the deaths of several
demonstrators and the wounding of dozens more.

{time} 1415

We must send a clear message to the Egyptian leadership that such
behavior is unacceptable and that the concerns contained within this
resolution need to be addressed if our bilateral relations are not to
suffer.
The resolution before us therefore calls on the government of Egypt
to take immediate steps to address the reported violations of
fundamental freedoms of the Egyptian people and to hold those
accountable for those actions and it urges the President to take

[[Page H12181]]

into account what, if any, progress has been achieved by the Government
of Egypt in meeting the goals outlined in this resolution when
determining diplomatic engagement with and the type of level of
assistance to the Government of Egypt.
This resolution is also forward looking, calling on the Government of
Egypt to take a series of confidence-building measures in future
elections.
Mr. Speaker, it is in the U.S. national security interest and in the
interest of the Egyptian people for Egypt to be governed by a
representative freely elected and legitimate national government. I ask
my colleagues to render their full support to this measure.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 284 and commend
my good friend, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and my colleague Mr. Ackerman of
New York, for sponsoring it.
Mr. Speaker, Egypt held a series of elections this year, both
presidential and parliamentary. They were the most competitive
elections Egypt has conducted in many decades; and, broadly speaking, I
commend President Mubarak for that. But that judgment, of course, is
rendered against the background of the decidedly noncompetitive and
unfree elections that have previously marked the quarter century of the
Mubarak era.
Accordingly, this resolution is absolutely on target in expressing
the deep disappointment and grave concern of this body with the heavy-
handed and often violent tactics that the Government of Egypt and its
security forces continue to employ in order to ensure their unbroken
dominance. This government-initiated violence apparently was intended
to limit voting in certain antigovernment districts. It resulted in
nearly a dozen deaths. In other cases, polling stations were simply
shut down by the security forces or shadowy groups of nonuniformed
thugs.
But many of the problems associated with these elections, arguably
the most serious problems, had nothing to do with violence. These
include the Egyptian Government's refusal to allow international
election monitors and even domestic NGOs meaningful access to polling
stations and its transparent and successful effort to eviscerate any
meaningful secular opposition to the ruling party.
For example, in seeking to convince Egyptians and the world that the
ruling National Democratic Party is the only bulwark against Islamic
fundamentalism, the government trumped up legal charges against Mr.
Ayman Nour, whose secular reformist agenda catapulted him to a second-
place finish in the September presidential elections. This theater-of-
the-absurd legal case crippled Nour's ability to conduct a
parliamentary campaign, and he even lost his own parliamentary seat
under highly questionable circumstances.
In light of all these problems, Mr. Speaker, it is hardly surprising
that barely one-quarter of the Egyptian electorate even bothered to
vote, a dismal participation rate which compares most unfavorably with
the almost-70 percent of the electorate voting in Iraq.
Mr. Speaker, this body has every right and obligation to take a deep
interest in the process of democratization and human rights reform in
Egypt, the recipient yet again this year of some $2 billion of military
and economic support from the pockets of American taxpayers. We have
every right to expect that when Egypt pledges to hold free elections,
these elections will be truly free.
As our Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, said at the American
University in Cairo in June: ``Egypt's elections must meet objective
standards that define every free election.'' Unfortunately, the
elections of 2005 fell far short of those standards.
Mr. Speaker, the administration is set to be seriously contemplating
the opening of negotiations for a free trade agreement with Egypt next
month. I think that would be a most regrettable step. It would be
construed as a signal that the United States is satisfied with the
State of Egypt's progress toward democratization; and as I am confident
the vote on this resolution will show, this body decidedly is not
satisfied at all.
Mr. Speaker, I do not want to minimize the problems Egypt faces in
moving towards democracy in a society where income is extraordinarily
low and the illiteracy rate is unbelievably high, nor should we be
unconcerned that these elections have revealed that the Fundamentalist
Brotherhood, which thrives with the impoverished and ill-educated,
remains a powerful force in Egypt. But I remain convinced that true
democratization, buttressed by free, fair, transparent and truly
competitive elections, will allow for the emergence of a secular
opposition. That is the right way to go about creating a prosperous and
healthy Egypt.
So, Mr. Speaker, these elections may represent a step forward, but a
much shorter and far clumsier step than this body, the American people
and, most importantly, the Egyptian people have every right to expect.
That is why I support this resolution and urge my colleagues to do so.
Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 284, a
resolution expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the 2005
presidential and parliamentary elections in Egypt.
I consider myself a friend of Egypt and while I believe Egypt
deserves praise and recognition for the steps toward democracy it has
made this year by moving to a direct vote on the election for the
office of President and the reforms that followed I must also, as a
friend, express some disappointment and concern about missed
opportunities.
Specifically, I was disappointed to see that more was not done to
ensure that domestic election monitoring officials would be granted
full access to polling and counting stations. I have also been
disappointed to learn about the continued severe limitations placed on
respected international election observing organizations to gain
accreditation and reasonable access to polling and counting sites. The
International Republican Institute, which had a team of international
election experts on the ground for the recent parliamentary elections
reported, ``The November 2005 parliamentary election process does not
support the claim that Egypt is in a process of democratic
transformation.''
Mr. Speaker, this resolution rightfully focuses Congress's attention
on a number of different aspects of the electoral process in Egypt.
While there are many areas where improvement is needed in Egypt, I
would like to give credit to Egypt where credit is due. The
International Republican Institute made the following assessment in the
conclusion section of its ``2005 Parliamentary Election Assessment in
Egypt'' about positive developments in the most recent round of
elections:

Despite negative aspects of the 2005 Parliamentary
elections, it is possible to highlight several notable
achievements when compared with elections in the past. First,
the role played by the domestic monitoring groups and the
Judges' Club--as with the Presidential election--has been
important, as elements of civil society begin to take a more
active role in advocating for greater democratic freedom and
pluralism.
In addition, between monitoring groups and independent
media, the government has permitted a new level of scrutiny
from the domestic and international community.
Several of IRI's delegates had spent time in Egypt in the
late 1980's and early 1990's, and noted that the public
debate about political reform and criticism of the ruling
party and the government would have been unthinkable 10 or 15
years ago. The relative freedom with which state-run and
independent press can debate these issues is an indicator of
progress that should not go unmentioned.

In closing, I stand ready to support Egypt as it moves toward truly
competitive democratic elections. This movement is rarely easy, and I
will be among the first to recognize progress made by Egypt as it
occurs.
I would also note that despite all shortcomings in the recent
elections, Egypt--despite the work that needs to be done--remains a
leader in the Middle East when it comes to democracy, its relationship
with the United States, and its positive relationship with Israel. I
believe it is, in fact, Egypt's close relationship with the United
States that gives this Congress the responsibility to ensure that this
relationship enhances the security, prosperity, and the democratic
freedoms of both peoples.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Latham). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the
House suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con.
Res. 284, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of

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those present have voted in the affirmative.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will
be postponed.

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