ET special field coverage on first voting day

CAIRO – 27 March 2018: The first day of voting in the 2018 presidential election, which saw thousands of Egyptians flock to the polling stations, is over. The three-day election shall continue until Wednesday, when the voting officially ends at 9 p.m.

Egypt Today sent its field reporters into streets to cover the 2018 presidential election and monitor voter turnout and participation.

Voters' eagerness to vote before going to work

By 8:30 a.m., dozens of voters rallied in front of some polling stations, waiting for the security forces' permission to cast their votes. A 61-year-old man had a short row with a police chief in charge of a polling station at the Imbaba neighborhood, after the man was prevented from entering the polling station before voting officially opened at 9 a.m.

At 9.01 a.m., a few seconds before the police chief announced the official beginning of the poll, two men insisted that the policeman let them enter the polling station.

"I want to cast my vote as soon as possible, before heading to my work," said one of the voters in Imbaba district early on Monday.

A woman told Egypt Today that she wanted to cast her vote before going to work so that she can proudly show her purple inked finger to her colleagues, referring to the ink used after casting a vote.

Meanwhile, local voter Shadia Taher told Egypt Today that, "I'm taking part in the presidential poll because Egyptians must show the outside world how they are keen on determining their fate with their own hands."

Dozens of voters spoke with Egypt Today in the middle-class neighborhood of Imbaba on Monday, and expressed their support of the political process in Egypt and the fair process of the presidential election.

Joy and dancing on the first voting day

Three large loudspeakers were put in front of a polling station in the Zamalek district, with dozens of men dancing as lines of voters appeared; all the while a number of local and foreign news agencies and channels broadcasted and recorded the scene.

"I'm one of the descendants of King Farouk and I've urged people to take to streets and take part in the 2018 presidential election," said one of the voters in Zamalek to Egypt Today.