CAIRO — On May 25, 2005, in a nearly empty polling station, Bothaina Kamel cast her vote on the referendum to amend the Egyptian Constitution to allow for the country’s first contested presidential elections. That evening she faced a studio camera, presenting the news on state television, declaring that the referendum witnessed a record turnout.
The vote that day had been marred by violence by security forces against protesters denouncing the facade of greater political participation — something that was not mentioned in the broadcast. The constitutional amendment, detractors said, outlined standards so stringent that the ruling party would choose its opposition in presidential elections.
That got Ms. Kamel to thinking: Is she telling viewers the news or is she conveying government newspeak?
Six years and a revolution later, Ms. Kamel, a television anchor and activist, now has the distinction of being the first woman to run for president in Egypt. Her campaign motto is simply, “My agenda is Egypt.”
Read the full story in the New York Times
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