Supreme Media Regulatory Council applauds high turnout during election

CAIRO – 26 March 2018: The Supreme Media Regulatory Council applauded the high turnout of Egyptians who went to cast their votes on the first day of the presidential election.

The head of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, Makram Mohammed Ahmed, said that he toured several polling stations in Heliopolis and Al-Sayeda Zeinab, and the long queues of Egyptian voters standing before the polling stations “by default respond to any lies spread by inciting newspapers.”

He further remarked that he has not witnessed any violations by the media during its coverage of the presidential election and the election is running smoothly without any incursions.

The head of Assessment Media Performance Committee Hassan Emad Mekkawi stressed that if any violations are committed by any media channels, the committee will issue a report and send it to the National Election Authority (NEA).

In the same context, Chairman of the Journalists' Syndicate in Egypt Abdul Mohsen Salameh mentioned that the participation of Egyptians in the election sends a message to the world about Egypt’s stability and the determination of Egyptians not to infringe the state.

About 60 million Egyptians have begun to cast their ballots on Monday, and will continue to do so for three consecutive days, to elect the country’s next president. It is a race that pits the incumbent President Abdel Fatah Al Sisi against head of al-Ghad Party, Moussa Moustafa Moussa.

Expatriates have already voted between March 16 and 18 in 124 countries. Due to unrest, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen did not witness polls for the 2018 presidential election.

Mahmoud Lasheen, the National Election Authority’s official spokesperson, told Egypt Today that 53 local civic organizations and nine international and Arab organizations have been accredited to monitor the 2018 presidential election.