Preparations Underway in Egypt to Allow Expats to Vote in Senate Elections

Egypt's Minister of State for Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs meets with Chairman of the National Elections Authority (NEA) in Cairo on Monday, July 6, 2020. (Egyptian government)
Egypt's Minister of State for Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs meets with Chairman of the National Elections Authority (NEA) in Cairo on Monday, July 6, 2020. (Egyptian government)
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Preparations Underway in Egypt to Allow Expats to Vote in Senate Elections

Egypt's Minister of State for Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs meets with Chairman of the National Elections Authority (NEA) in Cairo on Monday, July 6, 2020. (Egyptian government)
Egypt's Minister of State for Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs meets with Chairman of the National Elections Authority (NEA) in Cairo on Monday, July 6, 2020. (Egyptian government)

The Egyptian government has kicked off preparations for the Senate elections, scheduled to be held on August 11-12.

The National Elections Authority (NEA) announced on Monday that expatriates will be allowed to vote over two days starting August 9.

Minister of State for Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs Nabila Makram discussed Monday with NEA Chairman Lasheen Ibrahim the voting mechanism for expats.

She pledged to cooperate with the NEA to provide all the facilitations possible for expatriates to cast their votes.

She highlighted the national role played by Egyptians abroad and their participation in all constitutional entitlements.

Lasheen said the Immigration Ministry will be provided with all the necessary information about the candidates, their electoral constituencies and their resumes once the list of nomiees is finalized.

“The Ministry will also be provided with voting mechanisms and controls for Egyptians abroad.”

Once the list is completed, it will be published on the Ministry’s official website, Makram stated.

The Senate will include 300 seats, one third of which will be elected via the individual candidacy system, another third to be elected through the closed party list system and a third to be named by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The constitution stipulates that its members will serve for a five-year term.

The Senate was revived as part of constitutional amendments approved in a national referendum in April last year. The Senate was dropped from the constitution in 2014.



Hezbollah Shuffles its Cards, Adheres to Weapons Control

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem. (Reuters)
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem. (Reuters)
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Hezbollah Shuffles its Cards, Adheres to Weapons Control

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem. (Reuters)
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem. (Reuters)

The rhetoric of Lebanon’s Hezbollah chief on Saturday reaffirmed the party's commitment to its weapons and contradicted the positive atmospheres prevailing in the country after the election of General Jospeh Aoun as President, and the designation of international judge Nawaf Salam to form the new government.

On Saturday, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, stated that "the resistance in Lebanon will remain resilient against the American-Israeli project, continuing to be strong, ready, and loyal to the blood of the martyrs in its mission to liberate the land and Palestine”.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in a conflict parallel to the Gaza war in November. That ceasefire, which was brokered by the United States and France, requires Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60 days, and for Hezbollah to remove all its fighters and weapons from the south.

Both sides have since accused each other of breaching the ceasefire.

“Don't test our patience and I call on the Lebanese state to deal firmly with these (Israeli) violations that have exceeded 100," Qassem said in a speech delivered during the 13th International Conference titled "Gaza, Symbol of Resistance”.

He added saying that the party emerged from the war “with our heads held high”, and that plans to utilize the resistance and its weapons should be discussed within the defense strategy and through dialogue.

He emphasized that "no one will be able to exploit the results of the (Israeli) aggression for internal political gains, as the political process is separate from the status of the resistance”.

Qassem's stance comes just days before Israel is set to withdraw from the south, a move that, according to Ghayas Yazbek, a member of the Lebanese Forces bloc, is “dangerous” and will lead to negative consequences for Lebanon. He “is provoking a new Israeli war on Lebanon”, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Qassem’s remarks about insisting on holding on to weapons and to the separation of Resolution 1701 between the southern and northern parts of the Litani River contradict the ceasefire agreement, mainly that these statements come just days before Israel’s planned withdrawal from the areas it occupied in southern Lebanon on January 27, and on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration as US President. This could trigger a dangerous escalation from Israel”, Yazbek said.

Qassem’s statement is also an attempt to undermine the credibility of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who had conveyed positive vibes regarding the formation of the new government. The President and the Prime Minister-designate had affirmed that no party in Lebanon will be excluded from the upcoming government.

“Qassem’s rhetoric is a severe blow to the new presidency and premiership”, Yazbek stated, describing it as "an act of blackmail” akin to the tactics Hezbollah employed before the war.

The Secretary-General's remarks coincided with the presence of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Beirut and came just hours after the official visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Lebanon.

"Naim Qassem's speech raises concerns among friendly and sisterly countries that have pledged to provide full support to the Lebanese state, and it represents a negative message toward President Macron, who spoke on behalf of the international community”, said Yazbek.

The MP added that the rhetoric “reflects narrow, sectarian agenda of the Shiite community, which has once again entangled the country in crises from which it is desperately trying to extricate itself”.

Sami Nader, Director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, downplayed the impact of Qassem’s rhetoric on the positive atmospheres prevailing in Lebanon.

Qassem’s remarks are "an attempt to absorb the setback the party faced, a preemptive move regarding the ministerial statement and its potential participation in the new government, as well as a way to gauge the contents of the ministerial statement and interpret the issue of restricting weapons to the state”, Nader told Asharq Al-Awsat.