The January 25 revolution has created a golden opportunity for information technology. It has imposed a new reality, which requires the citizen relying more heavily on IT to achieve his aspirations, according to Yasser el-qadi, the manager of the Information Technology Industry Development Authority (ITIDA) an Egyptian governmental agency. His comments came at a workshop he organized after Minister of Communications and Information Technology Maged Othman asked him to initiate dialogue with businesspeople and NGOs, working in the field of IT. The aim was to encourage Egyptians to vote electronically in the forthcoming parliamentary and presidential elections due to be held later this year. El-Qadi added that the aim of this dialogue was also to expand the base of democratic participation in a fair and transparent way. In his view, the revolution is having a positive effect on IT in Egypt. “In the workshop, we discussed how to effectively implement e-voting in Egypt and abroad,” he explained. Meanwhile, General Mohamed Refaat Qomsan, an assistant to the Interior Minister and Director-general of the Elections administration, told Al-Ahram semi-official newspaper that his agency was ready to implement any election system approved by the authorities. He revealed that he has recently linked up a database containing the names of citizens and their IDs to the Civil Status Department and the security directorates, responsible for the preparation directorates, responsible for the preparation of voters' lists, in CD form. “The new lists contain the names of citizens who have reached the age of 18, while the deceased have had their names struck off the electoral rolls. There is a list of convicts and others who aren't allowed to vote,' he said. “For the first time, these lists will be available on the Internet. People can log on and find out where they meant to vote,” added the General. According to the Minister Othman, Egypt is ready now to vote electronically in the forthcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. “Via the Internet, the Ministry can organize the voting electronically. This will help prevent rigging,” he explained, adding that the telecommunications sector would facilitate Egypt's transition to democracy in the near future. “The Ministry is mulling how best to help Egyptian voters abroad and at home to vote at home to vote electronically,” said Othman, who took office over a month ago. He pointed out that the telecommunications sector will also lead campaigns to raise the political awareness of Egyptians during this transitional period. “This sector played a vital role in the revolution,” he stressed. Othman yesterday denied reports that Egypt will use imported software for e-voting. “The Government fully trusts the capabilities of the Egyptian firms,” he said. Egyptian political parties welcome electronic voting, but several of them think that this news system should first of all be used in sports club and professional association elections, before being left loose on of the parliamentary and presidential elections. Essam el-erian a spokesman for the Muslim brotherhood, Egypt's biggest opposition force, has praised the idea of electronic voting in general elections. “We welcome it, but at the same time we demand that all political forces and parties agree on using it, we like it because it makes the voting transparent and fair,” he told the official Middle East News Agency (MENA). El-erian disclosed that the Muslim Brotherhood is working on using e-voting in the elections for Egypt's Medical Association, due in October. The Coalition of the Revolution Youth, which comprises the April 6 Movement and the Muslim Brotherhood's National Assembly of Change and Youth, agrees on the importance of these proposals. “Foreign expertise should be used to implement and monitor e-voting, because of the lack of Egyptian expertise in this field, which is something new in Egypt,” says Shadi el-Ghazali Harb, a member of the coalition. In the meantime, some heads of political parties believe that e-voting is only suitable for Egyptian expatriates abroad, while officials in some other yet-to-be licensed parties warn that, although the system is simple, there is great need for accuracy and caution, to ensure the transparency and fairness of the elections. Rafaat al-Saeed, the Chairman of the leftist Al-Tagammu Party, says that the process of e-voting requires a transparent government and certain guarantees, stressing that the mechanisms of this new culture need to be carefully explained to Egyptian citizens, most of whom don't know how to vote electronically. Mohamed Jilani, the head of Al-Tahalaf party (under establishment), agrees. “There are about 20 million Internet users in Egypt, mostly in about e-voting in rural areas still needs careful study,” he explained. Adel Alqala, the head of the Arab Socialist Party, believes that Egypt is not yet ready for e-voting, however. “It will take at least ten years. We should start now by introducing e-voting in sports club and professional association elections, before using it in parliamentary and presidential elections,” he argues. “My party has studied the electoral system in India, Spain and France, which have used e-voting in general elections. We think voters here should vote with their IDs to begin with and then we can start thinking about electronic voting,” he adds. “Electronic voting would be a qualitative shift in political life in Egypt,” says Nagi el-Shihabi, the head of the opposition Generation Party. “E-voting would do much to reduce election fraud and restore voter confidence, encouraging people to vote,” he told The Egyptian Gazette in an interview. In his opinion, e-voting will help develop the performance of the opposition parties. Which will try to communicate with voters via various websites. Khaled el-henawi, the head of el-Sahwa officials in party, is against using such a system at a time when the country is in transition, adding that it might be suitable at a later stage. “The ballot box is the best expression of the people, especially as many rural Egyptians don't know how to use computers,” helmi Saleh, the head of the Liberal Party, told this newspaper . “Most people prefer to go the polls.” “We encourage any new thing or idea that makes the voting process easier and controlled,” says Osama Shaltout, the Chairman of opposition el-Takaful (Interdependence) Party. “If we use the electronic system, people can vote by identity card. I suggest that the Ministry of Interior should offer citizens free courses in how to use the e-voting machines. The people didn't vote because the elections were rigged under Mubarak, but with the new system they will want to vote.” “We, the political parties, asked the old regime to introduce e-voting in Egypt, but no one answered us. The young revolutionaries showed how effective electronic communication is,” Ahmed Abdel-Hadi, the Chairman of the opposition Shabab Misr Party told this newspaper over the phone. “This century is the age of information technology and everything will become electronic including the elections. Egypt is ready.” According to Abdel-Hadi, many Egyptians are illiterate, so the Government should use symbols, as in many other countries, to make it easier to vote electronically. “Young people should teach the computer illiterate how to use computers. My party is already doing this. A lack of polling stations is a stumbling block, as, now Mubarak has gone , huge numbers of people will want to vote,” he added. “Electronic voting can mean Internet voting or simply automated machines; it's not clear what they are referring to here. The mention of Egyptians overseas voting leads me to believe they are talking about Internet voting. We need more workshops about this system, so we can understand it properly,” stresses Moustafa Ali, a student at Cairo University. “The votes are recorded inside a computer. But voters cannot verify that the hardware has recorded their vote as intended,” Abeer Saeed, a media student told this newspaper. “‘We want e-voting in Egypt' is the name of a Facebook group that's calling for electronic voting in Egypt. I'm a member of this group, created in the wake of the revolution.”
