Egyptians abroad demand the right to vote, reports Samia Youssef Although participants at the Coalition of Egyptian Americans' seminar advocating the right of Egyptians abroad to vote agreed that it was theoretically possible, they admitted that various obstacles are in the way. The seminar was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Yehia El-Gamal, Minister of Labour Ahmed El-Borei, Assistant Minister of Interior General Rifaat Qumsan, Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs and the Affairs of Egyptians Abroad Mohamed Abdel-Hakim, and Vice Chairman of the Coalition of Egyptian Americans Sabri El-Baga. A variety of media figures, ambassadors and representatives of foreign communities in Egypt were also at the conference, held on Sunday at the Diplomatic Club in downtown Cairo. El-Gamal argued that Egyptians abroad did have the right to participate in the public affairs of their country as long as they had retained Egyptian citizenship, but saw numerous difficulties in the way of allowing them to do so. "How will we hold elections abroad? Do we have enough judges to send to the Gulf, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia where there are more than three million Egyptians?" he asked. "The problem is multifaceted from a logistical standpoint though there is no problem with the principle." Sabri El-Baga outlined his group's goals, including allowing Egyptians residing in the US "to avail themselves of all their rights in their new society, to participate in influencing American policies in a manner that serves the interests of Egypt, to participate in the transformation of Egypt into a true democracy, and to contribute to the realisation of sustainable development and social justice in Egypt". He stressed that, since its establishment in 2005 as a cultural organisation for Egyptians in the US, the coalition had been self-financing and its members had no financial objectives or aspirations for political position in their homeland. It was a purely voluntary organisation keen to cooperate with Egyptian efforts to promote true democracy, sustainable development and social justice in Egypt. El-Borei outlined his department's efforts until now to serve Egyptians abroad. There are 10 million Egyptians abroad, three million of whom reside in the Arab world. "Egyptians living abroad have always asked how they can help Egypt," he said. "In spite of the positive significance of this question, it also underscores the weak ties between Egyptians at home and abroad, and the failure to capitalise on the opportunities offered by the presence of 10 million Egyptians abroad." The deputy foreign minister for consular affairs and the affairs of Egyptians abroad told participants that of the 10 million Egyptians abroad only eight million were registered as expatriates. According to official figures, remittances from Egyptians abroad amounted to $9.7 million per year. Qumsan could see no legal obstacles preventing Egyptians abroad from voting in elections, pointing out that the new computerised voter data base could facilitate such a move. The database lists the voter's national identity number, which is linked to four other pieces of information: date of birth, marriage, divorce and death. Anyone over the age of 18 can present his or her ID card at any polling station, which will then consult the database to ascertain the identity of the voters and whether they are legally entitled to vote. However, he said, the database does not include details of Egyptians living abroad and the information that consular offices and embassies have is sometimes inaccurate. Allowing expatriates to vote in consular offices abroad or by post would be a time consuming process and some countries might object to Egyptian voting being conducted on their territory. Qumsan cautioned against Internet voting, reminding the audience of the problems electronic voting caused in American presidential elections in 2000. Technological improvements in polling processes were needed, he said, given that the population of eligible voters in Egypt is now 50 million. In a final presentation by Soheir El-Masri, the chairwoman of the Cairo branch of the Egyptian-American coalition stressed the need for Egyptians to learn to work together as a team. The seminar then concluded with a review of the activities that Egyptian expatriates are undertaking, both in Egypt and abroad, for the sake of their country and the issuing of recommendations on ways to harness the potential of Egyptian expatriates to further Egypt's advance.
