After weeks of controversy, the government on Wednesday endorsed a law allowing Egyptian expatriates to vote in the parliamentary elections.
“The law gives Egyptian expatriates the right to vote for the first time,” said Prime Minister Essam Sharaf. “And our embassies and consulates will manage the procedures.”
The cabinet will submit the law to the ruling military council for final approval. The endorsement is a reversal for the government, following a court ruling backing expatriates' right to vote.
The Foreign Ministry told the high elections commission earlier this month that organizing voting abroad would be impossible, as it has no data on the exact number of expatriates living outside of Egypt and there is not enough time before the 28 November elections to collect such data.
Meanwhile, Egyptians living in Israel are threatening to challenge the legitimacy of parliamentary elections if a court ruling bars them from casting their votes.
Khaled Nabil, a candidate for parliament, had filed a lawsuit to deprive Egyptians living in Israel of the right to vote.
“Such a ruling would be unconstitutional,” said Hisham Farid, spokesperson for the Association of Egyptians in Israel.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
