Egyptian community in Riyadh prepares for 2018 election

CAIRO – 16 March 2018: The Egyptian community in Saudi Arabia organized massive campaigns, organizational committees and voluntary task teams to assist in the 2018 presidential election in the Saudi kingdom and to encourage Egyptian expatriates into heading to the Egyptian embassy in Riyadh and the Egyptian consulate in Jeddah to cast their ballots.

The Egyptian community also made preparations for health care units, provided the polling stations with wheelchairs for the elderly and the disabled, juices and beverages and formed organizational committees to assist voters.

The community also launched a social media campaign to encourage Egyptian expats to participate and cast their ballots.

Moreover, the General Union of Egyptians Abroad sent more than a million message to members of the Egyptian communities to raise their awareness of the necessity of taking part in the electoral process.

Head of the union, Saied Yahia, said the Egyptian community in Jeddah provided as many as 66 buses to transport voters from and to Jeddah to cast their ballots. It also prepared a number of signboards to help voters along the process.

Deputy head of the union, Mohamed Abul Aish, also expects Egyptians abroad to positively participate in the election, especially to vote for current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to continue the renaissance movement that he started.

For his part, media coordinator of the union, Reda Belal, confirmed that taking part at the election is a national duty and that Egyptian nationals must cast their ballots.

The Egyptian embassy in New Zealand was the first to open to the electorate, given an 11 hour time difference with Cairo.

Egyptians at home are due on March 26-28 to cast their ballots in the country's 27 governorates.

The National Election Authority (NEA), headed by counselor Lashin Ibrahim, announced on February 24 the final list for Egypt’s upcoming presidential election including President Sisi and Moussa Moustafa Moussa, Head of al-Ghad Party.

Sisi showed his intention to run for president during his closing speech at the end of the three-day “Tale of a Homeland” conference, where the president and the Egyptian government presented an overview of the projects and achievements made in different fields during the last four years.

On his official Twitter account, Sisi called on the Egyptian people to participate intensively in the upcoming election and give their votes to whomever they see most eligible.

Sixty million eligible voters will cast their ballots in the election on March 26-28 in Egypt, while expatriates will vote on March 16-18 at 139 polling stations located in embassies and consulates of 124 countries, said Ibrahim in a press conference.

The primary results of the first round of the election will be announced on March 29, where decisions on appeals submitted by candidates, if any, will be made.

The final results of the first round will be announced on April 2.