CAIRO, December 10. /TASS/. Presidential elections have begun in Egypt. They will last on the territory of the country for three days - until December 12. According to the National Election Commission, the results will be announced on December 18.

The commission has said that about 67 million eligible citizens will be able to participate in the elections. Voting will begin at 9:00 a.m. (7:00 a.m. GMT). The upcoming elections will be monitored by 15,000 observers of all levels, who will work for three days in election commissions and committees. Their main task will be to observe the counting of votes, which will begin at the end of the third day of general voting, that is on the evening of December 12.

Officially, the current Egyptian presidential election began on December 1 for Egyptians living permanently or temporarily outside the country. In fact, it happened one day earlier. On November 30 at 9:00 a.m. local time (7:00 a.m. GMT), Egyptian citizens residing in the territory of New Zealand went to the ballot boxes to vote.

The presidential election outside Egypt was held from December 1 to December 3. According to the National Electoral Commission, a total of 137 electoral commissions were formed in 121 countries around the world.

Three in race, not including el-Sisi

Three politicians, not including incumbent President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, have qualified to run for president. None of them enjoys real support among young people or other broad segments of the population.

Farid Zahran, a 66-year-old leftist opposition figure, leads the Egyptian Social Democratic Party. His political platform prioritizes limiting state ownership of economic assets in major projects and enterprises, including the Suez Canal.

Abdel-Sanad Yamama, 71, was nominated by the New Wafd Party. A lawyer and professor of international law, he favors amending the country’s constitution, including limiting presidential terms to two four-year terms. He also favors reforms that would help build a free economy.

The third candidate, Hazem Omar, 59, who heads the People's Republican Party, says that he intends to base his presidency on reforming the health and education systems and developing agriculture, energy and trade.

During the campaign and the election itself, the electoral commission approved symbols for the presidential candidates: a star for the incumbent president, a sun for Zahran, a palm tree for Yamama, and a ladder for Omar.

Campaigning during conflict

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is running for the third time, and according to the constitution, which was amended on his initiative in 2019, for the last time. The amendments to the Basic Law allowed the incumbent president to run for a third term and increased its duration by two years, from four to six years.

On October 2, the Egyptian leader announced that he had responded to the aspirations of the people in favor of his candidacy and was ready to complete all reforms and transformations "to build a new republic" during his next term. Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians who gathered that day in the country's main squares enthusiastically welcomed the president's speech. A few days later, however, a new round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict began in the Middle East, bringing its own adjustments to the political life of Egypt, traditionally a peacemaker and mediator between Israel and Palestinian groups.

El-Sisi ordered to minimize the expenses of his electoral campaign and to donate to Palestine. The active participation of the current Egyptian president in organizing the process of providing humanitarian aid to the population of the Gaza Strip, evacuating foreign citizens, helping wounded Palestinians, as well as attempts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has become an important part of the Egyptian leader's campaign.