Egyptian expatriates began registering their voter information Thursday on the High Election Judicial Commission website, which will be used to create a database of eligible expatriate voters.
Expatriates can access the webpage via a link on the commission's website, which the commission says is accessible only from outside Egypt.
Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said Wednesday evening that the process of registering expatriate voters for upcoming parliamentary elections would be the first of its kind. Sharaf added on his Facebook page: “I will follow up the registration and I look forward to [their] participation.”
Embassy staff in the US will help facilitate the issuance of national identity cards for the Egyptian community, said Ambassador to the US Sameh Shokry. He said in a statement to reporters that embassy working hours have been extended until 8 pm to help with the effort.
He said the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, DC, would implement the decisions of the High Judicial Election Commission and would work within the available system to facilitate voting.
There are many complicated regulatory matters that need to be resolved ahead of elections, which puts a huge burden on the embassy and consular staff in terms of the large number of Egyptians expatriates in the US, as well as the size of the country, Shokry said.
He added that the US administration has shown signs of willingness to help and provide voting facilities.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
