FM, NEC co-op to facilitate electoral process abroad

CAIRO – 13 October 2017: The Foreign Ministry is looking forward to coordinate with the National Electoral Commission (NEC) to facilitate the electoral procedures for Egyptian nationals abroad, a Friday press statement by ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zaid said.

The statement added that the ministry is going to submit its proposals to facilitate and ease the participation of Egyptian nationals outside Egypt in the upcoming presidential elections. The ministry affirmed seeking the necessary guarantees that ensure the integrity and neutrality of the electoral process.

The NEC will be in charge of supervising all national elections and referendums; the commission’s board was formed under decree no. 502/2017, which was issued by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on October 10.

The NEC’s board consists of 10 prestigious members of judicial authorities, such as vice-presidents of the Court of Cassation, presidents of the Courts of Appeal, vice-presidents of the State Council, the State Lawsuits Organization and the Administrative Prosecution.

The commission will be supervising the upcoming presidential elections in May.

The draft law concerning the NEC’s formation was ratified by President Sisi in August; it stipulates the establishment of the NEC as an independent authority that has its technical, financial and administrative independence, to supervise the process of presidential, parliamentary and local elections.

According to Egypt’s constitution of 2014, “the commission shall have a permanent executive body. The law shall determine the composition and constitution of such executive body, and the rights, duties and guarantees of its members in a way that achieves their neutrality, independence, and integrity”.

Additional reporting by Ahmed Gomaa