By Mai Shams El-Din
CAIRO: The Ministry of Interior confirmed on its official Facebook page that voting on the upcoming constitutional amendments will be through national IDs, and not voting cards.
The voting process was subject to speculation, especially with rumors that citizens must register their names at respective local police stations in order to be included in the voters’ lists.
“There is no need to check the voters’ registry lists,” said the Ministry of Interior on Facebook. “All you need is a valid ID and you can go to the nearest polling station of the address mentioned in the ID.”
The use of voting cards has always been criticized by rights activists and civil society observers who said that they were used to rig election results, which was apparent in the latest parliamentary elections.
“Putting the Ministry of Interior in charge of the voting process is catastrophic and endangers the credibility of the voting results,” said Gamal Eid, director of the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI).
“It is expected that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces will form a new committee to oversee the election process. If this does not happen, it is another mistake by the army,” he added.
