CAIRO- Egyptian Minister of Labour Hassan Shehata asserted that the massive participation of Egyptians in the presidential election that kicked off Sunday attested to the citizens’ full awareness of their legal and constitutional rights.
In statements to MENA after having cast his vote, the minister said participation in the election is a national duty, adding that all directives were issued to directorates across the various Egyptian governorates to facilitate measures before staffers to cast their ballots and exercise their legal and constitutional right.
The National Elections Authority (NEA) has completed all necessary preparations for the election, including the establishment of 11,631 polling stations in 9,376 electoral centres. The stations are staffed by 15,000 judges from various judicial bodies to supervise the election process.
The State has taken steps to accommodate older voters and voters with disabilities. Polling stations have been located in accessible locations and voting instructions are available in Braille.
The State has also invited all diplomatic missions accredited to Egypt to observe the election. Twenty-four embassies have registered 67 diplomats to observe the election. Fourteen international organizations have also been accredited to observe the election, with 220 observers from these organisations registered. In addition, 62 local civil society organizations have registered, with 22,340 observers from these organisations registered.
The State has issued 528 international media accreditations to 115 media organisations. In addition, 70 local media organizations have been accredited, with 4,218 journalists and media workers from these organizations registered.
The pre-election campaign period ended on Friday, December 9.
The candidates running for the presidency include incumbent President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who is running for a third term in office and whose electoral symbol is a star; Farid Zahran, the leftist opposition Social Democratic Party candidate with the sun as his electoral symbol; Abdel-Sanad Yamama, candidate of the Wafd party who has chosen the palm tree as his electoral symbol; and Hazem Omar, the Republican People’s Party candidate, with the ladder as his electoral symbol.
The final result will be announced on December 18 if no run-off is required.
