CAIRO: The Cabinet's legislative committee approved late Monday modifications on the political participation law allowing Egyptians abroad to cast their votes. The approved modifications will allow Egyptians living overseas to cast their votes in presidential elections and public referendums using their national IDs at Egyptian consulates in their countries of residence. "The modifications await Cabinet's final approval on Wednesday and approved by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and will be in effect in the first public voting," said Mahmoud Omara, who is in charge of the Egyptians abroad committee in Cabinet. "The participation is limited to the presidential elections and public referendums only because legislative elections would be very complex and meaningless," he told Daily News Egypt. Egyptians abroad are estimated to be between 9–10 million and have been long demanding their right to vote in elections. Remittances from Egyptians living abroad are one of the main sources of GDP. According to a 2008 World Bank report, they accounted for $5.9 billion placing Egypt first on a list of top 10 remittance recipients in MENA in 2007. Omara, also the head of the Egyptian Businessmen's Association in France, said that ousted president Mubarak promised them this right 25 years ago in the first conference for Egyptians Abroad in 1984. "The Cabinet is persistent and willing to cooperate with Egyptians abroad and we have been discussing these modifications since Saturday in the presence of the deputy prime minister and Ministers of Interior, Justice, Education, Foreign Affairs and Manpower and found no obstacles to apply them," Omara said. He said that those who wish to vote will have to issue a national ID card and demanded from the government to send committees to assist Egyptians there in issuing IDs at their countries of residence. Amr Hashem, political expert at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said that this is a step forward despite challenges in applying these modifications. Omara said that Egyptians abroad will determine the outcome of the anticipated presidential elections. "They will be a voting block that will affect the outcome of elections but it will depend on their response and level of participation," Hashem said. He said that limiting voting stations to consulates will prevent many of those who live in remote areas to cast their vote and that the turnout may not exceed 15 percent. Omara criticized the recent constitutional amendments that banned Egyptians with another nationality from running in presidential elections. "How can they ask Egyptians abroad to invest in Egypt and provide their expertise while at the same time not show them trust and deny them their right to political participation," he said. However, he said that this was one of four demands for Egyptians abroad that include connecting with second and third generations of immigrants in order to form a lobby in their countries, establishing a repatriation office and having representation in parliament. A repatriation office opened its doors in downtown Cairo two weeks ago, according to Omara, and will help returning immigrants in directing their investments and resettling in Egypt.
