US Ambassador to Cairo, Herro Mustafa Garg, said on Tuesday that elections are the heart of the American democratic system.
During the embassy’s celebration of the US Election Day, the US Ambassador to Cairo pointed out that her country joins about 60 others that have elections, representing half of the world’s population.
The ambassador said that the 2024 US elections are being followed by millions around the world, and are an interesting topic for Egyptians.
She added that she is from an immigrant family and came to the US at a very young age, so democracy and freedom are very important values to her.
However she noted at the same time that “democracy is an imperfect process,” but it helps in self-correction.
“In the United States, where there is an effort to maintain transparency, fairness and access to elections, we realize that democracies are evolving. American democracy is no exception,” she added.
“Democracy is not just elections, but voting is closely linked to it because it includes a very important right, which is the right to expression, the right to opinion, the right to participate in political affairs, as well as the right to shape the destiny of the country.”
She added that women began voting in American elections in 1919 after the passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, noting that many black American citizens were not allowed to vote until the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Garg said that thanks to civil society, respect for the right to freedom of expression and the right to free and fair elections, these things have changed. Although the process is imperfect, it allows Americans to confront the inequalities and contradictions in society.
She stressed that this is what the embassy is celebrating today.
The ambassador pointed out that despite the attention that the US presidential elections receive, there are hundreds of other elections held in the US every year.
Garg explained that Americans choose their president and vice president, as well as their members of Congress, state governors, and municipal officials, and they also vote on matters such as funding for public schools and taxes. She said that presidential elections are one of several ways to ensure that Americans achieve their ambitions in government.
She noted that electoral systems vary from state to another, meaning that it takes time to count and sort votes to ensure the electoral process works, and she ruled out announcing the results tonight.
Garg said that Election Day does not end on in one day, and the work of democracy does not end with the end of the election, and regardless of who wins each election, the US continues the democratic process to ensure that our government is led by the people, for the people.
The US elections began on Tuesday morning, and voting is now underway in all polling stations across the various states. It is expected that the coming hours will witness the beginning of the closing of polling stations and the emergence of initial indications about the winner in those stations.
However, it is unlikely that the winner will be announced quickly.
