First death announced during presidential election

CAIRO – 27 March 2018: A 64-year-old woman, Kanoa Soliman Mabrouk, passed away on Tuesday from a circulatory collapse after casting her vote at her assigned polling station in the Helwan district of southern Cairo, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

She was transferred to Helwan Hospital near her polling station, where she was declared dead. The ministry's statement added that there have been a total of 104 medical cases sent to hospitals to receive required treatment during the voting process that kicked off Monday.

Mabrouk’s death is the first death case announced during the election.

Egyptians headed to the polls Tuesday for the second day of the presidential election between incumbent President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and Ghad Party Chairman Moussa Moustafa Moussa.

Although no official reports were released regarding the size of turnout on the first day, Monday, women and elderly were reported to have participated widely in different governorates.

Signs of joy were clear in highly crowded polling stations, where many voters sang national songs and danced outside schools serving as polling stations.

The two candidates voted on Monday, while the National Election Authority (NEA) is ready for higher voter participation on the second and third day of the election. The NEA has called on all Egyptians to participate in the vote.

Some governorates, like Alexandria, Cairo and Giza, witnessed high turnout, according to governors and officials. North Sinai's Arish and Beir el-Abd cities recorded the highest turnout among Egyptian cities, comparing the number of participants to the number of registered voters, according to Ali Haridy, head of the Cabinet operation room designated to follow up on the election.

The 2018 presidential election is the third to take place in Egypt since the January 2011 revolution.