CAIRO - Egyptian expats on Thursday continued voting in the first round of the post-Mubarak Shura Council (Upper House of Parliament) elections that will start on Sunday and Monday, with a high turnout expected. The Shura Council in the second most prestigious legislative council after the People's Assembly (PA), which held its first sessions on Monday. Egyptians abroad can vote in 127 embassies and 11 consulates that are ready to receive their ballots. The Egyptian Embassy in Kuwait has organised rooms with computers, Internet and printers to help people vote easily, the Egyptian Ambassador there said, adding that, when the voting has finished, committees will count the votes and then send them to Egypt. Egyptian Ambassador in Italy Mohamed Farid Munib said the electoral process abroad encourages expats to participate politically. "We have set up a national network, allowing us to communicate with Egyptians all over Italy," he told the official Middle East News Agency (MENA). The Higher Elections Commission (HEC) has made voting cards available online, hoping that the Shura Council elections will witness a spirit of co-operation and respect between voters and judges like that which characterised the PA elections. "I hail the co-operation and respect between voters and judges," Abdel-Moez Ibrahim, the head of the HEC, was quoted by the MENA as saying. The first round of the Shura Council elections will take place in the 13 governorates of Cairo, Alexandria, Assiut, the Red Sea, Daqahlia, Gharbia, Fayyoum, Menoufia, the New Valley, North Sinai, South Sinai, Damietta and Qena, while the runoff will start on February 7. The first round of the polls has 15 constituencies for party lists and individuals, with about 25.38 million eligible voters, according to Ibrahim, adding that there will be about 10,722 judges supervising the polls. He added that the HEC has finished all its preparations to ensure the elections are as successful, transparent and fair as the PA elections. They have received some complaints, but the HEC promises to solve any problems facing the electoral process. Some people would like the Shura Council abolished. Hazem Abu Ismail, a Salafi presidential hopeful, is proposing that Egypt cancel the Shura Council elections, in order to expedite the forthcoming presidential elections and the transition to a civilian government. The legislative role of the Shura Council is merely to review draft laws and submit recommendations on them before their referral to the Lower House, the People's Assembly. Abu Ismail suggests three steps for ending the transitional period: issuing an immediate constitutional declaration to abolish the Shura Council; holding presidential elections before the end of April; and postponing the drafting of the Constitution until the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces hands over power to the new Government.
