Preparations were in full swing this week to put the final touches to the expatriate elections for the country's next president that will start from today until 18 May. “Each and every citizen living abroad, temporarily or permanently, during this period who is registered on the electoral roll and has a national ID card, even if expired, or a valid passport, has the right to cast his vote in the nearest Egyptian embassy or consulate,” said Ali Al-Esheiry, Foreign Ministry Assistant for Consulate and Expatriate Affairs. Al-Esheiry pointed to several measures that the ministry had taken to make voting easier for expatriates, among them cancelling pre-registration which had been presented as an obstacle for many voters in previous elections. Dina, a teacher living in Kuwait for more than 12 years, was happy that the elections committee had cancelled prior registration. She had not managed to register to vote in January's constitutional referendum. This time round, she is ready to choose the new president. She expected the measures taken by the elections committee to prompt more voters to take part. However, Ahmed, a professional who has been living in Saudi Arabia for more than two decades, believed that the measures would not make expatriates take part in what he called an “undemocratic process.” “What happened in Egypt on 30 June was a coup. So whatever took place after that is not democratic. I refuse to take part in any election that is organised by the post-30 June authorities,” he said. But other expatriates disagree. Fatma, a housewife who had lived in Saudi Arabia for more than 15 years, could not wait to take part in the voting process. “Although I live far from the nearest polling station, I cannot miss the chance to take part in the election of the first post-30 June president,” she said. She managed to arrange with a group of friends to travel to the polling station. However, there are still others who may find it difficult to take part in the elections. Voting by post had earlier been helpful for thousands of citizens, especially those living in countries like Saudi Arabia, the US and Canada, allowing them to send in their ballots by post. However, unlike in previous parliamentary and presidential elections, which allowed voting by post, voting in January's referendum and in the current presidential elections is only allowed in person. This is bad news for Radwa, who has been living in Canada for some five years, who cannot travel hundreds of miles to the nearest polling station. “I appreciate the fact that they are holding the elections at the weekend. But I cannot travel all that distance. A postal election could have made my life far easier,” she said. Although some have pointed out that the restrictions may put further burdens on expatriates who cannot vote in person, foreign ministry spokesman Badr Abdel-Atti said that the ministry was following regulations issued by the elections committee. “The committee aims to give equal rights to Egyptians living inside and outside the country,” he said. In Egypt, people have to cast their vote in person and are only allowed to use the national ID card in order to be allowed to do so. The expatriate vote is being held earlier than the home vote to allow more time, including the weekend, for expatriates to vote and for the results to be sent to the elections committee. The presidential elections will be held in Egypt itself on 26 and 27 May. The elections will take place in 141 polling stations in 124 countries, Abdel-Atti said. The polling stations in Rome and the Vatican have been merged, and others have been added in Geneva, Shanghai, Frankfurt and Hamburg, Istanbul, and Al-Aqaba. Other polling stations were closed in Somalia, Libya, Syria and the Central African Republic for political or security reasons. However, expatriates living in these countries can vote in polling stations in nearby countries or travel to Egypt to vote on 26 and 27 May. At the end of the expatriate elections, all the names of voters who take part in the elections aboard will be removed from the electoral roll in order to avoid any duplication of votes. Polling stations in embassies or consulates are manned by members of the diplomatic and consular corps, as well as administrative personnel from Egypt's embassies worldwide. More diplomatic staff have been dispatched, especially to Gulf polling stations that are expected to serve large numbers of voters. Abdel-Atti said that the foreign ministry had established an operations room to supervise the voting process until the votes were sorted and sent to the elections committee. The controversy over the right of Egyptian expatriates to vote dates back to April 2011, when the then cabinet announced that Egyptians living overseas should be allowed to vote in the presidential elections and referendums at embassies and consulates abroad as part of the amendments to the law on political participation. In October 2011, an administrative court ruled that Egyptians living abroad had the right to cast ballots in the parliamentary polls. One month later, Egypt's then ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) passed a law regulating expatriate voting in parliamentary and presidential elections and in referendums, allowing expatriates to vote in embassies and consulates in the countries in which they lived. Al-Esheiry appealed to all Egyptian expatriates to use their right to vote which they had spent years calling for. “In that way they will emphasise their role in shaping the history of their country through their participation,” he said.
