Nearly 261,820 Egyptian expatriates in the Kingdom have registered to vote in Egypt's first post-Mubarak presidential poll. According to the Supreme Presidential Elections Commission of Egypt, a total of 586,820 expatriates from all over the world are registered to vote. Of the 23 presidential hopefuls only 13 remain after 10 were disqualified, including former intelligence chief and vice president Omar Suleiman, Muslim Brotherhood chief strategist Khairat El-Shater and lawyer-turned preacher Hazem Abu Ismail. According to an official statement, Suleiman was disqualified because he failed to get enough signatures to be on the ballot. Shater, who was released from prison in March 2011, was barred because of a law stating that candidates can only run in elections six years after being released or pardoned. Abu Ismail is out of the race because his mother is an American citizen, violating election rules which state that all candidates, their parents, and their wives must hold only Egyptian citizenship. Expatriates in the Kingdom remain divided about whom to vote for and many are undecided. Some simply want a leader who will restore security, calm the volatile situation and restart investment and tourism. Others believe the demands of the people should be met and any future government should pay close attention to providing more jobs for the youth and should fight unemployment. Muhammed Hazim, an Egyptian employee at a company in Jeddah, said that he is still unsure whom he will vote for but ruled out voting for the Muslim Brotherhood and said candidates should concentrate on restoring security and the economy. “I don't support the Muslim Brotherhood; I think they are not qualified to govern the country. Look what happened when they won the majority of Parliament. The situation is getting worse. They are only concerned with getting power,” he said. “I will probably vote for Amr Moussa as he is a veteran diplomat who is well-known and liked in the international political arena.” Niven Helmi, a housewife, said that most of the candidates were making empty promises and giving people false hope. “Most of candidates are not honest with the people. We know that it is hard to achieve any progress in the country now but they should tell people their plans for restoring security, the economy and tourism then talk about new investments and projects,” she said. Egyptian expats in the Kingdom can vote by going to the consulate-general of Egypt in Jeddah or to the Egyptian Embassy in Riyadh between May 11 and May 17. __
