The Foreign Ministry has a full plan on how to carry out the electoral process for Egyptians abroad, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Amr Roshdy told Al-Masry Al-Youm on Wednesday. However, the ministry “is not a decision-making body for that matter, and whatever is decided will be carried out by the ministry through Egyptian embassies and consulates,” said Roshdy, commenting on Tuesday's Administrative Court ruling, which allows Egyptians abroad to vote in the next parliamentary elections. Egyptian embassies and consulates have informed the Foreign Ministry of the decisions, procedures and preparations they will make if Egyptians abroad are allowed to vote, Roshdy said. In August, Telecommunications Minister Mohamed Salem said technical and organizational difficulties might hamper expats' participation in the polls. He said these problems could not be resolved ahead of the parliamentary vote, slated for November. Experts say that around eight million Egyptians abroad send remittances to Egypt and contribute to its gross domestic product, so they should be granted the right to vote.
