Imagini ale paginilor
PDF
ePub

3

take risks for peace . . . Peace is what the Jewish People aspire to."; and

Whereas Yitzhak Rabin dedicated his life to the cause of peace and security for the state of Israel by defending his nation against all threats, including terrorism and undertaking courageous risks in the pursuit of peace: Now, therefore, be it

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) honors the historic role of Yitzhak Rabin for his distinguished service to the Israeli people and extends its deepest sympathy and condolences to the family of Yitzhak Rabin and the people of Israel on the tenth anniversary of his death;

(2) recognizes and reiterates its continued support for the close ties and special relationship between the United States and Israel;

(3) expresses its admiration for Yitzhak Rabin's legacy and reaffirms its commitment to the process of building a just and lasting peace between Israel

and its neighbors;

(4) condemns any and all acts of terrorism; and (5) reaffirms unequivocally the sacred principle that democratic leaders and governments must be changed only by the democratically-expressed will of the people.

109TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION

H. CON. RES. 284

Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the 2005 presidential and parliamentary elections in Egypt.

IV

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 27, 2005

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself and Mr. ACKERMAN) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to the 2005 presidential and parliamentary elections in Egypt.

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 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

2

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 elections if their demand for a truly independent judiciary was not met;

Whereas the Judges Club initially insisted that the 13,000 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;

3

Whereas several coalitions of Egyptian civil society organiza

tions demanded access to polling stations on election day

and successfully secured court rulings granting them such access;

Whereas the Presidential Election Council, citing its constitu

tional authority to oversee the elections 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 denial of full access by the Government of Egypt to domestic and international monitors undermines the legitimacy of Egypt's presidential and parliamentary elections;

Whereas parliamentary elections will be held in Egypt in three stages: on November 9, 2005, in eight provinces, including Cairo and its twin city of Giza, on November 20 in nine provinces, and on December 1 in nine other provinces;

Whereas it is in the national interests of the United States and Egypt that a truly representative, pluralist, and legitimate Egyptian parliament be elected; and

Whereas the Government of Egypt now has the opportunity to take necessary measures to ensure that the coming

4

1

legislative elections are free, fair, and transparent: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That Congress

[blocks in formation]

(1) recognizes the importance of the presidential election held on September 7, 2005, as a first step toward greater openness and political re

forms in Egypt;

(2) expresses concern over the lack of international election monitoring and irregularities during the Egyptian presidential election;

(3) recognizes that the development of a democratically-elected representative and empowered Egyptian national parliament is the fundamental reform needed to permit real progress towards the rule of law and democracy;

(4) calls on the Government of Egypt, during

the 2005 parliamentary elections, to—

(A) authorize the judiciary to supervise the election process across the country and at all levels;

(B) authorize the presence of accredited representatives of all competing parties and independent candidates at polling stations and

during the vote-counting; and

« ÎnapoiContinuă »