Egyptians in Kazakhstan, Cyprus join 2nd day of elections

CAIRO – 17 March 2018: Members of the Egyptian community in Kazakhstan headed to the Egyptian embassy in the Kazakh capital of Astana to participate in the second day of the presidential election.


Members of Egyptian community in Kazakhstan participate in the second day of the Presidential elections- Press photo

Egyptian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Haytham Salah said that the turnout came beyond expected, adding that more Egyptians will show up to cast ballots on Sunday, as the day is a holiday in Astana.


Members of the Egyptian community in Kazakhstan participate in the second day of the Presidential elections- Press photo

In the Cypriot capital of Nicosia, on the other hand, Egyptian expats were keen to participate in the second day of the presidential election, said Egyptian Ambassador to Cyprus Mai Taha Khalil.


Members of the Egyptian community in Kazakhstan participate in the second day of the Presidential elections- Press photo

The National Elections Authority (NEA) held a press conference on Friday to review the progress of the electoral process that commenced yesterday for overseas Egyptian voters.

The NEA spokesperson, Mahmoud El Sherif, who also serves as the deputy head of the authority, said that Egyptian embassies abroad witnessed a huge turnout from each country's Egyptian community.

He added that the NEA has not been informed of any obstacles facing voters abroad while casting their ballots, even in Turkey and Qatar, and expressed the authority’s full readiness to address any issues in this regard.

“It is not a must for any Egyptian living abroad to obtain a residency permit to be allowed to cast his/her ballot,” Sherif affirmed.

"Percentage of voter turnout will be announced by the end of the electoral process abroad," he added.

The Egyptian embassies in New Zealand and Australia inaugurated earlier the second day of voting in the presidential election on Friday at 10 p.m. (Cairo time), while consulates and embassies across the world were to officially open their doors Saturday at 9 a.m. local time in each country.

The government and media outlets in Egypt have urged voters to head to the polls on the second of the country's presidential election, amid a sign of a higher-than-expected turnout in the balloting.

Election monitors said Friday's polling witnessed thousands of Egyptians lining up to cast ballots across the world in a vote that will determine the country's elected president for the coming four years.

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

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

The 2018 presidential election takes place in 139 foreign embassies and consulates in 124 foreign countries for three days.

Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister 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 Affairs Ministry.

In 2017 the government estimated the number of Egyptians living abroad at 9.4 million.
The National Election Authority (NEA), headed by counselor Lashen Ibrahim, announced on February 24 the final list for Egypt’s upcoming presidential election including President Abdel Fatah al-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.