The executive director of the National Election Authority (NEA), Ahmed Bendari said that the authority is to keep neutrality toward candidates, adding that the timetable for the upcoming presidential elections will be announced on Monday.
“The NEA will maintain an equal distance from all presidential candidates,” he stressed during a press conference on Wednesday.
The NEA will guarantee the full rights of all candidates who meet the nomination requirements, he continued.
“The elections will be conducted under full judicial supervision, ensuring transparency, with candidates having their representatives in all polling stations,” he said.
The upcoming presidential elections will be the fifth of their kind in achieving pluralism and competitiveness, and the third since the January revolution, he noted.
It is worth mentioning that the NEA, which was established as per the 2014 constitution, is the independent body responsible for organising and managing elections.
In June, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi appointed veteran judge Walid Hamza to chair the NEA.
“The board urges all influential forces in the Egyptian political life, whether supportive [of state’s policies], opposition or independent to consider the upcoming presidential elections as a significant opportunity to strengthen the path of the modern civil democratic state of law,” the Board of Trustees of the National Dialogue said in a statement on Tuesday.
The executive director of the National Election Authority expressed his hope that the upcoming presidential elections will come out with the appropriate image and content on behalf of Egypt and its great people. He called on all international organisations that want to participate in following up on the electoral process to submit their requests to the commission.
He also called on all press and media institutions to adhere to the stipulated impartiality and objectivity, in accordance with the controls of the electoral process and the decisions of the Authority.
“People are the main source of authority, and they alone have every right to choose their president,” he said, stressing that the body is completely independent by virtue of the constitution and the law and is solely responsible for managing and supervising the presidential elections, from its first steps until announcing its results, and issuing all decisions regulating this extremely important file.
He pointed out that the National Authority followed what was discussed during the previous period regarding attempts of some to question the integrity of the electoral process before announcing the election timetable, stressing that the Authority will not be complacent in any way in taking all measures and applying the provisions of the law towards any person or institution that tries to cast doubt on the transparency and integrity of the work of the National Elections Authority.
Regarding the possibility of using electronic voting, Bandari stressed that the position of the President of the Republic is a high-level one, indicating that the Authority is away from using the electronic voting method for fear of any challenge to any of the procedures. He added that this issue needs a constitutional amendment.
He noted that a presidential decision will be issued to reconstitute the Board of Directors of the National Elections Authority again, and 5 members of judicial bodies and authorities will be added to the Board of Directors in a new formation, starting from October 9.
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