Laws governing observers of Egypt’s presidential election

CAIRO – 9 March 2018: Sixty-two national and international nongovernmental and civil society organizations will observe the 2018 Egyptian elections, according to the regulations of Law no. 8 of 2018, issued by the National Election Authority (NEA), headed by Judge Lashen Ibrahim.

The NEA will issue identification cards for representatives of these organizations, to allow them to enter the election and sorting committees in order to observe the election process.

“NGO representatives cannot stay more than 30 minutes inside the polling stations to ensure that no disorders happen in the election process. Supervising judges in the polling stations are authorized to decrease this period or the numbers of observers in case of any disturbance. Observers have to follow the instruction given by the judges,” Mahmoud Sharif, spokesperson and vice president of NEA said.


Final NEA list of 2018 Presidential candidates includes current President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and candidate Moussa Moustafa Moussa

In February, the NEA announced the final list for the candidates, including current President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and head of al-Ghad Party Moussa Moustafa Moussa. Sisi has chosen a star as his symbol in the election, while Moussa chose a plane as his symbol.

Voting will take place for three days starting March 26 domestically, while it will begin on March 16 for expats from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in each country’s local time. The winning candidate will be announced on April 2.

62 NGOs to observe presidential election: NEA

CAIRO - 15 February 2018: The National Election Authority (NEA) agreed on allowing 62 non-governmental organizations to observe the presidential elections due in March, Deputy Head of the National Election Authority Mahmoud el Sherif said.

National Election Authority Decision No. 8 for 2018

Declaration of Principles for Egyptian, Foreign and International Civil Society Observers to observe the 2018 Egyptian Elections, here are some articles of the law that regulates the work of elections observers.

Article (1)

Egyptian, foreign and international civil societies working in the fields of election observing, human rights, promotion of democracy as well as foreign election authorities and commissions are permitted to observe the 2018 Egyptian elections, as per the regulations stated in this declaration, and upon obtaining a permit from the National Election Authority.

This permit shall not be considered a license or an authorization to undertake any other activities in Egypt. The permit expires when the electoral process ends.

Article (2)

“Observing the electoral process” refers to all acts of observing and observation of all procedures pertaining to candidates’ registration, election campaigns, voting, counting votes and declaration of election results.

Observers shall not interfere in the electoral process in any way. They shall not obstruct it, attempt to influence voters’ opinions, campaign for candidates or give or receive any grants, gratuities, gifts, aid or benefits of any kind from any candidate or from his supporters.

Article (9)

Observers shall gain access to Voting Committees, Vote Counting Committees, and General Committees by showing the IDs issued by the Authority.

Observers are not to remain in any committee room for more than 30 minutes. Heads of Sub-Committees and General Committees may, when necessary, shorten this period, and restrict the number of observers of committees in order not to interrupt their work.

In all cases, the instructions of Heads of Sub-Committees and General Committees are to be followed in this regard.

Article (10)

Organizations allowed to observe elections shall abide by all applicable laws, bylaws and decisions pertaining to the electoral process. They shall observe elections as per the principles and guidelines stipulated by the National Election Committee, and they shall heed accuracy, impartiality, and objectivity. They shall not use their work to acquire any political or partisan gains.

Article (11)

Authorized organizations shall promptly notify the National Election Authority about any observations they deem necessary for it to note.

The Authority shall investigate these observations, verify them and take the necessary procedures regarding them.

Organizations are not permitted to declare any election results or indicators before they are officially declared by the National Election Authority.

Article (12)

After the electoral process ends, authorized organizations shall submit a report to the Authority, stating their observations.

This report must be impartial, cite verifiable incidents, and provide a technical assessment of positive and negative aspects that their observation noted. The report shall objectively refer to official statements made by the National Election Authority in response to the organization’s observations.

Additional reporting by Noha el-Tawil