Lessons Learned

After we've voted, or at least most of us did. After we've all enjoyed our first step towards democracy. After we all knew how good it feels to be one of the many decision makers in this country. After we all understood that one vote makes a difference. It's now time to list all the lessons we've learnt and make sure that we make use of them in the next elections.Here are my thoughts:

1. First step towards democracy is to accept different opinions.

2. We shouldn't be fanatic, this isn't a fight. We all want the best for Egypt but are taking different routes. We should never accuse anyone of anything because of one's choice, and I'm talking about people and not parties.

3. One day is not enough for 45 million eligible voters. It should be done in two days in order for everyone to be able to vote.

4. Judges must use more help from civilian monitors

5. Ink is not an enough proof that one won't vote more than once. Welcome to the 21st century, please use technology. All stations must be connected, IDs should be checked on the database using their numbers, that's a very easy task. A student can implement that. They'll only need a computer and an internet connection in every station, it's worth the money.

6. Egyptians living abroad MUST be able to vote. These ten million are as Egyptians as any of us, it's their right.

7. There should be laws that don't allow people to bribe someone, use religion, or give them gifts in order to vote for something/someone. This must be taken very seriously.

8. Technology should be used in order to make counting an easier and more accurate job. For example we can use the technology used for SAT corrections, which are very easy and would do the job.

9. We should all accept the results, even if It's not what you chose, and work for better Egypt according to the majority's choice.

10. And the most important thing is awareness, that's the most important thing right now. People with less education and less money really need this. Because these people want the best for Egypt. They were part of the revolution, they love Egypt as much as anyone else does. They want to make a difference, but they have to understand what is going on to be part of it. They need someone to tell them that it's politics that would lead to a better life. That they shouldn't believe anyone that tells them that God wants us to do this or that. That the future of Egypt is in the hands of every single person, and that their future depends on the future of Egypt. Yesterday 16 million voted out of 35 million, if we cross out those who live abroad. And they did so with barely no awareness, if we spread awareness, if we explain to them the criteria that they can use to know who to vote for, if we explain to them the importance of voting, I believe the road to democracy will be much shorter.