Wafd party urges Egyptians to cast their votes in upcoming elections

CAIRO – 25 March 2018: Wafd’s Party assistant head of parliamentary issues, Yasser Koura, stated on Sunday that the terrorist attack that targeted the security chief’s motorcade will be strong incentive for the Egyptians to cast their votes in the election after they have been assured that the state in a war with terrorism, which seeks to destroy the state and its sanctity.

On Saturday, a bomb planted under a car exploded in central Alexandria on Saturday, killing two policemen and injuring six others.

Koura also added that voter turnout will not be affected by this terrorist incident and urged Egyptians to participate in voting in elections.

Voting in the 2018 presidential election in Egypt will commence on March 26, as was announced by the NEA on January 8, and will last until March 28. Sixty million eligible voters will be able to cast their ballots in the election during this time, while expatriates already voted between March 16 and 18.

The results of the first round will be announced on April 2. If there is a need to hold a run-off round, Egyptian expatriates will cast their votes again on April 19, 20 and 21. The final results of the 2018 presidential election are expected to be announced on May 1.

Who are the presidential candidates?

The National Election Authority has approved two official candidates for the 2018 presidential election:

1- Abdel Fatah al-Sisi

Born on November 19, 1954, Sisi is the sixth incumbent president of Egypt; he has been in office since 2014.

Married to Entissar Amer, Sisi has three sons and one daughter.

Prior to becoming president, Sisi served in the Egyptian Armed Forces from 1977 to 2014.

He announced his intention to run in the 2018 presidential election during his closing speech at the end of the three-day “Tale of a Homeland” conference held on January 19.

2- Moussa Mostafa Moussa

Moussa, who studied architecture in France and heads the Egyptian Council for Arab Tribes, has been the chairman of Al-Ghad Party since September 2005.

Lawyer Samir Elaiwa submitted Moussa’s candidacy documents to the NEA 15 minutes prior to the closing deadline.

Moussa announced that he had collected 20 endorsements from members of Parliament, and that he had garnered the support of 40,000 citizens in various governorates.

Regional and International Observation

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hamdy Loza told MENA on Thursday that five regional and international organizations will observe the 2018 presidential election.

These organizations are the League of Arab States (LAS), African Union (AU), Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

Loza further elaborated that African observation of the 2018 presidential election symbolizes the solidarity between the African people and their Egyptian neighbors.