Statement by U.S. Congressman David Dreier and Director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Jane Harman, Egyptian Presidential Elections Witnesses.

May 24, 2012

“Once again the Egyptian people have shown their determination to build the first democratically-elected government in modern Egyptian history.  We have been in Cairo to witness this important next step.  It was an inspiration to see the palpable excitement of Egyptians from all walks of life lining up to cast their ballots to choose their President and shape the future direction of this great country.

The voters and judges we met were pleased with how well the process went.  A number of mistakes from the parliamentary elections had been corrected.  Egypt appears to have done well under challenging economic and political circumstances. 

The vote count is now underway. We look forward to closely following the next steps in this election as Egypt completes its transformation to a representative democracy with a constitution that guarantees the rights of men and women.”