CAIRO, December 10. /TASS/. Egypt has opened polling stations across the country, where people can cast their votes in the presidential election.
The voting in the presidential election in Egypt will last for three days, until December 12 and, according to the National Election Commission, the final results will be announced on December 18.
The National Election Commission announced that 10,085 polling stations were opened across the country.
The commission reported earlier that about 67 million eligible citizens will be able to participate in the elections. Voting started at 9:00 a.m. local time (7:00 a.m. GMT). The elections are monitored by 15,000 observers of all levels, who work for three days in election commissions and committees. Their main task is to observe the counting of votes, which starts at the end of the third day of general voting, that is on the evening of December 12.
Three politicians, not including incumbent President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, have entered the race for the country’s post of the president.
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.
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.