Egyptian expats to vote for president in 139 polling stations: NEA

CAIRO - 15 February 2018: Egyptian expatriates will cast their ballots in the upcoming presidential election in 139 polling stations in Egypt’s embassies and councils abroad, the National Election Authority (NEA) Spokesperson Mahmoud el-Sherif told Egypt Today Wednesday.

According to the NEA timeline for the 2018 presidential election, Egyptians living abroad are scheduled to vote for their chosen candidate running for president on March 16, 17 and 18. The run-off for expats was set for April 19-21.

In October 2017, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced that 9.5 million Egyptians live outside the country, with the majority located in Arab countries. Eligible voters abroad are those whose names are registered in the voters’ database; they can cast their vote using their national IDs or passports with the ID numbers identified.

Local and international organizations are being registered to observe the elections across Egyptian governorates with the registration deadline set to be on Thursday. For the expatriates’ voting process, it will be supervised by members of diplomatic missions and consulates along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff.

Immigration Minister Nabila Makram said last week that the NEA will be receiving requests and inquiries of Egyptian expats on its website https://www.elections.eg, urging Egyptians abroad to “positively and effectively” participate in the voting process.

Makram met with NEA chairman Lasheen Ibrahim to coordinate efforts regarding the voting process abroad.

Egypt’s embassies abroad are reportedly carrying out preparations ahead of the voting process that will kick off on March 16 and will last for three days.

Egyptians inside the country will be heading to polling stations on March 26 and 27.

Voters will choose between the incumbent President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and Al-Ghad Party head Moussa Mostafa Moussa, after previous candidates either withdrew or were disqualified.

The Supreme Administrative Court is considering a case filed by Lawyer Tarek al-Awady who impugned the validity of Moussa’s candidacy for not meeting the education eligibility standards. Awady argued that Moussa has not obtained a certified university or higher education degree, which is a key requirement for candidates running in the presidential election.