“We will fight tooth and nail to hold the referendum on time. It is in the interest of stability that we have a constitution as soon as possible. The majority of people will vote yes,” says Ibrahim, a labourer who has lived in Saudi for more than four years. “My family and I and almost all the people around me will vote no,” says Manal Tolba, a market research professional who has lived in the UAE for 18 years. Egyptian expatriates who voted on the referendum on 12 December are as polarised as their domestic counterparts. Those who belong to the Muslim Brotherhood or are followers of political Islam not only support the new constitution and will vote for it in the referendum but insist those who oppose it are remnants of the old regime. “I cannot think that anyone would say no to the constitution which will place Egypt on the path to stability and democracy,” says Ibrahim. “I will campaign for a yes vote and ask all my acquaintances to vote for stability.” People opposed to political Islam are inclined to reject the constitution because, they say, its articles give Islamists the opportunity to stay in power for good. “I don't trust the poll but I will vote even if it is rigged,” says Tolba. Though appalled by recent developments — the constitutional declaration followed by bloody confrontations in front of the presidential palace — she says she is not surprised, since she expected such things from the Islamists. Soon after the Constituent Assembly agreed the final text of the draft constitution in a rushed overnight session the Foreign Ministry spokesman announced the referendum for Egyptians abroad would be held from 8 to 11 December 2012, a week ahead of local polls. It was later postponed for 4 days to start on 12 December. Safwat Ayoub, director of the South-North Forum in Canada, is concerned that if endorsed the constitution will deepen divisions after it was force through by an Islamist dominated assembly in less than a day. Ayoub believes the referendum should have been postponed until a consensus was reached among all political forces. He says the vast majority of Egyptians, including many who voted for Mohamed Morsi in the presidential election, are against the referendum and regards the resignation of six of the president's aides as a glaring example of that opposition. Amr Eid, a doctor who lived in Saudi Arabia for more than 15 years, says most of the people around him feel the country is being kidnapped. “Nobody believed that the referendum would be held this quickly. Nobody is ready for it except the Islamists, of course, who have already started campaigning.” The fast tracking of the referendum left the Foreign Ministry and overseas missions in a state of confusion. The lack of time to prepare eventually led to the four-day delay in the vote. There has been very little time for voters to register their names on the election website, a necessary condition for their voting, which is likely to restrict turnout. Added to that, 200 diplomats have refused to take part in supervising the poll. The diplomats, who signed a communiqué announcing their refusal, said they wanted to remain politically neutral and refrain from taking sides. The communiqué cited the bloody events in front of the presidential palace on 5 December as the reason signatories could not take part in supervising the poll. The communiqué, issued last Thursday, was signed by Egypt's ambassadors to Australia, Finland, Spain and Sri Lanka. Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr has not issued direct orders for diplomats to take part and the Foreign Ministry exists enough staff are prepared to supervise the poll. It is not the first time diplomats take a political stand. Some diplomats recently expressed discontent about what they said was a political directive from the government urging them to support President Mohamed Morsi's constitutional declaration, issued on 22 November. But perhaps the strongest defiance to the rules of the ministry came after the Free Diplomats was formed in the wake of revolution. They campaigned for genuine post-revolution changes in the ministry. Prompted by the violent confrontation to peaceful protesters during the 25 January Revolution, 300 diplomats issued a statement calling for specific measure to be taken to end the clashes, including a halt to all violence by security forces against peaceful protesters. Referendum regulations are the same as those employed during the parliamentary and presidential elections. The official website provides voters with ballot papers from Wednesday 12 December. They can vote either in person or by mail during the four day polling period. Out of a total of 8 to 10 million Egyptians living abroad, only 586,000 expatriate Egyptians are registered to vote. Some 314,000 took part in the presidential election and 287,000 in parliamentary elections. The right of Egyptian expats to vote was confirmed in April last year when the government announced that expats must be allowed to vote in presidential elections and public referendums at embassies and consulates. In October an administrative court ruled that Egyptians living abroad had the right to cast ballots in the parliamentary polls. A month later the ruling military council passed a law regulating expat voting in parliamentary and presidential elections and in national referendums.
