Makram: 139 headquarters prepared in 124 states for elections

CAIRO – 22 January 2018: Minister of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates' Affairs Nabila Makram declared Monday that a Facebook page will be launched for Egyptian expatriates to receive their inquiries on the presidential elections.

During a press conference held on Monday, Makramsaid that 139 electoral headquarters were prepared in 124 countries, referring that Egyptians abroad could go for the ballot boxes with their passports, and their national identity cards are not required to be valid.

She further remarked that the page will receive all the inquiries of Egyptians abroad on the presidential elections and will facilitate the process for them by helping them reach the electoral committees.

She called on voters abroad to enter the voters’ website “www. Elections.eg”and check their names in the voters’ lists.

Makram added that Egyptians abroad do not have to vote in the same place of residence, stressing that the illegal immigrants can vote in the upcoming presidential elections without any concerns.

Makram referred that 340,000 Egyptian expatriates voted in the previous presidential elections, and that the country aims to raise this number in the upcoming presidential elections.

She calledon the Egyptian entities abroad to gather Egyptians and provide them with suitable transportation meansto help them reach the electoral committees and vote.

The National Election Authority (NEA) opened its doors for candidates to present their candidacy documentson January 20, but no one has applied yet for the three day presidential election that is set to be held on March 26, according to the authority’s deputy head, Mahmoud el-Sherif.

The National Election Authority is an independent institution running all types of elections and referenda in the country, currently chaired by Chancellor Lashin Ibrahim Mohamed, who also serves as vice-president of the Court of Cassation.

Until this moment, four candidates publically announced their intention to run for president, including President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, human rights lawyer Khaled Ali, chief of Zamalek Club Mortada Mansour and former Army Chief of Staff Sami Anan.

According to Article 140 of the Egyptian constitution, electoral procedures should begin a minimum of 120 days before the end of the current presidential term, and the president-elect should be announced a minimum of 30 days before the end of the previous president’s term. The current presidential term will end in June 2018.