Egyptian expats in New York prepare for a constitutional amendments referendum
Ahram Online , Sunday 31 Mar 2019


Members of the Egyptian expat community in New York said in a statement on Sunday that they are ready to participate in a referendum on the proposed amendments to Egypt's constitution, voicing their support for the proposed changes, according to Al-Ahram Arabic news website.

In a statement published on Sunday, the Egyptian expats in New York said that they will vote in favour of the amendments as soon as parliament approves them and they are put to a public referendum.

The statement added that the 2014 constitution was drafted under strenuous circumstances and needs to be amended.

The group also released a video calling on Egyptians to participate in any upcoming vote and support the amendments.

Egyptian parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal has said that the referendum is expected to be held in late April.

According to Abdel-Aal, the amendments have six objectives: to give a greater quota of parliamentary seats (25 percent) to women; to create a second house (Senate); to increase presidential terms from four to six years; to reinstate the post of vice president; to regulate the system for selecting the heads of judicial authorities; and to redefine the role of the army in defending the country.

The Egyptian parliament concluded last week the fourth and final round of social dialogue involving various social and political forces to discuss the proposed amendments.

According to Egypt's elections law, Egyptians abroad cast their ballots before citizens in Egypt.

In the 2018 presidential elections,157,060 Egyptians abroad participated in the presidential elections at 118 embassies around the globe.

State statistics agency CAPMAS said in 2017 that 9.5 million Egyptians live outside the country.

Around 6.2 million Egyptians live in Arab countries, 1.6 million in North and South America, 1.2 million in Europe, and 340,000 in Australia.

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/329175.aspx