CAIRO: Egyptian political activist and coordinator of the “My Vote is my Demand” campaign Samie Elish today detailed the military council and governmental committee agreement that enables Egyptians abroad the opportunity to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The military council and governmental committee met yesterday, Thursday November 3, during which they agreed to allow Egyptians abroad the ability to vote using identity cards. Voting will not be permitted using Egyptian passports. The Egyptian government will initiate a vast marketing campaign for Egyptians abroad, encouraging them to register their information on the election website, Elish said. During the meeting, the officials agreed to certain rules to facilitate voting abroad, like giving ambassadors and consuls judiciary powers to supervise the elections abroad. Such empowered officials will sort and send results to the supreme committee for elections instead of sending voting cards directly. Rights activist and attorney Ahmed Rageb however today threatened to resort to the judiciary if the responsible authorities do not issue a timeline for the establishment of an electoral headquarters abroad. A court ruling was issued earlier mandating the announcement of a timeline for establishing an electoral headquarters for expatriate Egyptians. Rageb invited expatriate Egyptians to use the media and Egyptian embassies to support the establishment of the election headquarters. Regab mentioned that Saudi Arabia may refuse expatriate voting on Saudi land. “The Egyptian government has two difficult choices: they either do not apply the court ruling or threaten to invalidate the elections or they apply the court ruling,” said Regab. The General-Coordinator for the National Association for Change Abdoul Galil Mustafa today praised the court ruling, but he criticized the Egyptian government for not yet implementing any legislation. “Egyptians abroad funded Egypt with U.S. $12.6 billion in 2010, which is three times the revenue of the Suez Canal,” Mustafa reported, adding that voting is a right guaranteed by the January 25 Revolution. He also renewed his decision to establish the “National Rescuing Government,” saying that the Egyptian government has failed to implement necessary mechanisms for elections. “Alaa Abdel Fatah is a symbol for loyalty and the January 25 Revolution,” Mustafa said, commenting on the recent arrest of the Egyptian activist and blogger. “Abdel Fatah encouraged his friends and colleagues to stay loyal to the principles of the January 25 Revolution,” he added. “The court ruling giving expatriate Egyptians the right to vote gives hope for new policies in Egypt,” said Ahdab Seweef, adding that authority must be transferred to a civilian body as soon as possible.
