By Ahmed Abbas and Mina Ibrahim
Egyptians abroad will start to vote for the parliamentary elections in 139 embassies across the world on 17 and 18 October. The Supreme Electoral Commission (SEC) announced in a press conference on Monday its preparations for this event.
“SEC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs worked together to facilitate the voting process for Egyptians abroad,” SEC spokesman Omar Marwan said in a press conference. The elections will not take place in three countries for security reasons. These are Libya, Syria, and Yemen.
In a press conference Tuesday, the Egyptian Minister of Immigration and Expatriate Affairs Nabila Makram called for all Egyptians abroad to vote in these elections. She said her ministry’s role is to promote awareness among the voters about the process. Makram also announced that the ministry will launch a website Friday that contains all the information Egyptians will need to vote abroad.
For the first time in the upcoming parliament, each electoral list will have to make a minimum legal representation for the Egyptians living abroad, with a total of eight seats in all lists. This is similar to the other quotas given to the Copts, the women, the youth, the farmers, the labor, and those with disabilities.
Spokesman of Egyptians abroad Wala El-Morsi thinks that parties are just putting their names to fill their lists.
“They are just marginalised on the lists, I cannot vote for an entire list because I want to vote to one candidate whom I only know,” El-Morsi said. He wishes for those eight members to be appointed directly by the head of the state.
In Jordan, one Egyptian worker, Sobhi Mohamed, is confused who to vote for. “I have lived here with my family for the past 12 years, I have no idea who are the candidates in my hometown,” Mohamed said.
Vice president of the Union of Egyptians Abroad Mohammed Rayan confirmed this problem. He mentioned that “the parliamentary candidates do not live abroad, so basically we do not know them”.
Moreover, Nader El-Sharkawy, International Chairman of the Free Egyptians Party (FEP) abroad mentioned that his Party demanded several times from SEC and from the Ministry of Transitional Justice to create special constituencies for the Egyptians who are living abroad.
“During the Tunisian Parliamentary elections for example, there were four constituencies for the Tunisians who live in France. Egyptians living abroad for long time ago should be represented by candidates whom they know, and with whom they constantly communicate,” said El-Sharkawy who emphasised that what he said has a constitutional basis.
El-Sharkawy referred to article 244 of the 2014 constitution that guarantee the representation of the Egyptians living abroad in the elections. According to him, “giving someone the right to vote is not enough and does not result into a complete representation of the people’s demands. There should be mechanisms that facilitate the voting process”.
Besides criticising the absence of electoral constituencies abroad, El-Sharkawy complained about the far distance between the voters and the embassies.
“Voting could be conducted by post or electronically. Many countries apply these mechanisms for their citizens who live abroad and they employ organizational procedures to ensure the credibility and transparency of such mechanisms”.
Commenting on this problem, Hossam El-Gohary, an engineer who works in Saudi Arabia, highlighted that the distance between where he lives and the embassy seems to be a barrier. “I cannot travel 200 kilometers just to vote,” he said. “I wish if there was another way to vote near my area”.
Furthermore, Rayan said, “Do you think one could travel 100 km in Saudi Arabia or fly by plane from a city to city in the US only to vote for someone he does not know?” Rayan asked.
Rayan mentioned that the Egyptian government should have agreements with other governments to allow Egyptians abroad vote at the nearest police station, especially countries with high a number of Egyptian immigrants.
