Egyptians cast votes in China, Southeast Asia in 2018 polls

CAIRO – 16 March 2018: Egyptian expatriates began casting their ballots early Friday in China and Southeast Asia in the first day of the 2018 presidential election scheduled to last for three days.

The Egyptian community in China cast their votes at the Egyptian embassy in Beijing and the Consulate General of Egypt in Shanghai.

Egypt's ambassador to China Osama Al-Magdoub said the embassy in Beijing has contacted over the past few days with the Egyptian community residing in China via social media to encourage them to exercise their constitutional right in participating in the presidential election.

He added that the cultural advisor in the embassy communicated with Egyptian students studying in Beijing and nearby cities to urge them to participate in the electoral process.

Al-Magdoub said that the embassy explained to the Egyptian citizens how to cast their votes accurately and the common mistakes that might lead to invalidating their ballots so that they can avoid them.

The embassy also provided an air conditioned reception hall with a capacity of 20 people equipped with all necessary equipment to ensure a smooth electoral process during the election days. In addition, the embassy commissioned 10 employees to receive voters and assist them in the electoral process, from 9am to 9pm

Egyptian expatriates began lining up at polling stations in different countries such as Australia and New Zealand to cast ballots in the presidential election scheduled to last for three days.

Consulates and embassies across the world were to officially open their doors Friday at 9am local time in each country.

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

Due to political unrest and a worsening security situation, the elections would not take place in three countries: Yemen, Syria and Libya.

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


2018 presidential election - Egypt Today
Egyptian Foreign Minister's Deputy Hamdi Loza said previously that all foreign missions have been provided with electronic scanners so voters’ ID cards and passports can be quickly scanned, noting that the whole expatriate voting process will be monitored by surveillance cameras linked with an operations room at the foreign ministry.

He added that the foreign ministry held training courses for committees that will supervise voting abroad under the supervision of the National Elections Authority (NEA), as well as other procedures aimed at facilitating the highest turnout from expats.

Loza called on Egyptians abroad to participate in the presidential elections, which will begin on March 16 and last for three days.

In 2017 the government estimated the number of Egyptians living abroad at 9.4 million.

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.

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.