The number of Egyptians living abroad and eligible to vote in upcoming parliamentary elections is around 8 million, said a government official on Thursday, quoting figures from December 2010. However, according to the same government study, only 1.5 million Egyptian expats are registered with the Egyptian embassies in the countries where they live.
General Abu Bakr al-Gindi, the head of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAMPAS), revealed the figures as Egyptians abroad began the process of registering to vote in elections slated for 28 November, adding that the real figures for 2011 may be somewhat different.
On Thursday, Egyptians abroad began registering to vote though a website established by the High Election Judicial Commission, and only accessible from abroad. Egyptian embassy staff in the US are working overtime to ensure that Egyptians there are able to vote and are issued with identity cards ahead of polling day, according to Egypt's ambassador to the US, Sameh Shokry.
Meanwhile, some 50 million Egyptians living in Egypt and elligible to vote are registered with 53,000 sub-committees nationwide, a thousand with each, Gindi said.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
