The National Election Authority (NEA) announced that voting in the 2024 presidential election in Egypt will take place 10-12 December 2023, with Egyptians abroad casting their votes 1-3 December 2023.
In a press conference in Cairo, NEA Head Walid Hamza announced the timetable for the election process, which will stretch from 5 October and 18 December, when the final result is set to be announced in case of no run-offs.
The NEA will receive requests for candidacy between 5-14 October, disqualifying incomplete applications and announcing the initial list of candidates by 16 October.
Presidential candidates must secure endorsements from 20 MPs or 25,000 registered voters across at least 15 governorates, with a minimum of 1,000 endorsements from each governorate.
The NEA will announce the reason for any disqualifications on 22 October.
The final candidates list will be issued on 9 November.
Electoral silence will begin on 8 December in Egypt and on 29 November abroad.
The public electoral commission will finish counting ballots by 13 December.
The NEA will receive appeals against the decisions of the electoral commission on 14 December and rule on them on 15 and 16 December.
The ENA will announce the final result on 18 December if no run-off is required.
Run-off scenario
In case no candidate manages to obtain an absolute majority of valid votes, the two leading candidates will run for a second round of voting on 8-10 January 2024 nationwide and on 5-7 January abroad.
The winner of the run-off will be announced on 16 January.
In such a case, electoral campaigning will be allowed from 19 December 2023 till 4 January 2024 within the country and 7 January abroad.
The public electoral commission will finalize counting ballots by 11 January, with the NEA to receive the appeals on 12 January and rule on them on 13 and 14 January.
Polling stations nationwide will open their doors for voters from 9am to 9pm local time.
Expats will vote at Egyptian embassies and consulates from 9am to 9pm local time.
The election will be held under full judicial supervision.
According to Hamza, the timetable was determined in order to hold the election process before the end of the judicial supervision mandate, which is set to expire by 17 January 2024 as per the constitution.
Possible candidates
This will be the fourth presidential election since the 25 January uprising. The latest presidential election was held in 2018, resulting in Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi assuming office for a second term.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, whose term ends in 2024, has not officially announced his intent to run for a third term, although several political parties have urged him to do so.
So far, seven political figures, including a woman, have revealed their plans to compete in the upcoming elections.
Last week, Gameela Ismail, chairwoman of the liberal Dostour (Constitution) Party, and Farid Zahran, chairman of the leftist Egyptian Social Democratic Party, announced their intentions to run.
The others are Abdel-Sanad Yamama, head of the Wafd Party; Fouad Badrawi, a former MP and member of the Wafd Party’s Higher Council; Hazem Omar, head of the People’s Republican Party; Ahmed El-Fadaly, chairman of the Democratic Peace Party; and Ahmed Tantawi, a former MP and former head of the leftist Al-Karama (Dignity) Party.
