Another sham election highlights Egypt’s problems

ALL THEMP publicly available evidence suggests that the Coalition of Hope was exactly what it claimed to be: a nascent political alliance that planned to field candidates in the election for Egypt’s lower house of parliament. The group, which included s, journalists, businessmen and labour leaders, aimed to shake up a legislature dominated by supporters of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi. Last year, though, the interior ministry accused the coalition of working with terrorists to “bring down the state”—a plot the ministry identified, with no hint of irony, as “The Plan for Hope”. As the election kicks off this month, several coalition members sit in jail.Even by the standards of Egypt, where votes are routinely bought and opposition candidates imprisoned, this contest seems especially undemocratic. Using arrests, intimidation and bureaucratic hurdles, the regime has cleared the field of most of its critics. Candidates compete to sound the most pro-Sisi, while rich businessmen throw money at parties backed by the state. The results are not expected until December, but the outcome is not in doubt. Parliament will again be full of politicians who fawn over the president.