The voting stage of the 2024 presidential elections for Egyptians abroad has ended, according to the National Election Commission (NEC). The voting took place from 1 to 3 December at the headquarters of Egyptian diplomatic missions in 121 countries around the world.
The NEC stated that it had counted the votes, verified the validity of the ballots, and determined the number of votes obtained by each of the four candidates. The ballots were sealed in envelopes and sent to the NEC through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The final official result will be announced by the commission after adding the votes of Egyptians inside the country.
The NEC supervised and followed up all aspects of the electoral process, which was headed by ambassadors and consuls, assisted by members of the diplomatic corps. The NEC provided all the necessary equipment and facilities to ensure the smooth conduct, transparency, and integrity of the voting.
The NEC issued its directives that the voters should use their national ID card, even if expired, or their valid passport with the national ID number. The NEC also introduced voting cards in Braille for blind voters. The equipment of the electoral centers included glass boxes, curtains, electronic reader devices, and technical equipment to transmit the facts of the electoral process remotely to the NEC’s operations room in Cairo.
The voting hours were from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. over the three polling days. The NEC also allowed all voters who showed up before the closing time of the ballot boxes to cast their votes until the last voter.
The NEC’s operations room observed a noticeable turnout by Egyptian citizens, whether residing or visiting abroad, to participate and cast their votes. The operations room also maintained constant communication with the embassies and consulates to monitor the latest developments, obstacles, problems, or complaints in the electoral process.
The NEC instructed the Egyptian embassies and consulates to prevent any electoral propaganda or influence on the voters’ will inside or around the electoral centers. The NEC also provided technical support to solve some problems that occurred in some voting locations.
The NEC stated that some of the problems were related to the scanning of some national ID cards due to technical issues in the issuing process. Another problem was the malfunctioning of some e-reader devices. The NEC said that it was able to fix these problems quickly without affecting the voting process.
