On April 8, Egyptians will go to the polls for the first time in three years. Millions will vote to fill 52,000 seats in 4,500 municipal councils at the village, district, and provincial level. This election season, however, most Egyptians are focused less on political issues and more on matters of daily survival. In Egypt, a country where the president has ruled for more than a quarter of a century, free and fair elections are a rarity. The country held its first multi-candidate presidential elections in 2005. The following year, a stronger than anticipated performance by the Muslim Brotherhood in parliamentary elections led the government of Hosni Mubarak to postpone municipal elections until now. Few Egyptians expect any real surprises. Having limited the number of opposition members who are eligible to stand for election, the outcome is all but guaranteed, with the ruling National Democratic Party expected to win at least 90 percent of the seats.
As Egyptians Go to the Polls, Middle Class Discontent on the Rise
