The National Electoral Commission (NEC) said on Monday that initial indicators showed high voter turnout on the first day of the presidential election between incumbent President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and politician Moussa Mostafa Moussa.
NEC spokesperson Mahmoud El-Sherif said at a press conference that polling stations witnessed extensive participation in Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Qalyubia, Assiut, Aswan, and North Sinai, noting that the intensive participation, especially in North Sinai despite its security situation, has sent a strong message of resistance against terrorism. He also added that the commission have not yet received any complaints.
“We observed some simple problems with non-governmental organisation (NGO) respresntatives, as they didn’t hold licenses to monitor the election,” said El-Sherif, adding that judges have allowed all candidates’ representatives and NGOs to follow the electoral process inside polling stations.
El-Sherif pointed out that the election is being supervised by 18,000 judges and 110,000 administrative assistants at 13,706 polling stations in 26 governorates across the country. He further said that most polling stations opened their doors on time, except for 12 that were delayed for various reasons.
The NEC earlier announced a hotline number, 19826, for receiving voters’ complaints throughout the three days of voting, which ends on Wednesday.
