Egyptian Expats Begin Vote in Presidential Elections

Egyptian men wear T-shirts with pictures of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as they wait to register their names for voting in the Egyptian presidential elections at a polling station set up in the Egyptian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, 01 December 2023. (EPA)
Egyptian men wear T-shirts with pictures of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as they wait to register their names for voting in the Egyptian presidential elections at a polling station set up in the Egyptian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, 01 December 2023. (EPA)
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Egyptian Expats Begin Vote in Presidential Elections

Egyptian men wear T-shirts with pictures of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as they wait to register their names for voting in the Egyptian presidential elections at a polling station set up in the Egyptian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, 01 December 2023. (EPA)
Egyptian men wear T-shirts with pictures of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as they wait to register their names for voting in the Egyptian presidential elections at a polling station set up in the Egyptian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, 01 December 2023. (EPA)

Egypt’s presidential elections kicked off on Friday with expatriates casting their vote in a three-day process.

Elections in Egypt will be held on December 10 to 12. The results will be announced on December 18.

Three candidates are running against incumbent President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is expected to win a third term, lasting six years.

Expatriates cast their vote at 137 Egyptian embassies and consulates in 121 countries.

Authorities have not disclosed the number of expats eligible to vote, but Minister of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs Suha al-Gendy said earlier this week that she was confident of a heavy turnout.

Egypt boasts around 14 million expatriates.

A 2021 report from the Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics revealed that the majority of expats live in Arab countries followed by North America.

The candidates competing against Sisi are head of the opposition Social Democratic Party Farid Zahran, head of the liberal Wafd Party Abdel-Sanad Yamama and head of the liberal People’s Republican Party Hazem Omar.

Egypt’s state Middle East News Agency reported a heavy turnout on the first day of voting, especially in the Arab Gulf region.

Egypt’s Grand Mufti Dr. Shawki Allam had called on Egyptians abroad to vote in the election, saying it was a national duty.

The last presidential elections were held in 2018 with turnout of 24.3 million out of 59.1 eligible voters.



Iraqi Oil Minister: Kurdistan Region's Oil Exports to Resume Next Week

A view shows the al-Shuaiba oil refinery in southwest Basra, Iraq April 20, 2017. Reuters
A view shows the al-Shuaiba oil refinery in southwest Basra, Iraq April 20, 2017. Reuters
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Iraqi Oil Minister: Kurdistan Region's Oil Exports to Resume Next Week

A view shows the al-Shuaiba oil refinery in southwest Basra, Iraq April 20, 2017. Reuters
A view shows the al-Shuaiba oil refinery in southwest Basra, Iraq April 20, 2017. Reuters

Oil exports from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region will resume next week, Iraq's oil minister said on Monday, resolving a near two-year dispute as ties between Baghdad and Erbil improve.
The oil flows were halted by Türkiye in March 2023 after the International Chamber of Commerce ordered Ankara to pay Baghdad damages of $1.5 billion for unauthorized pipeline exports by the Kurdistan Regional Government between 2014 and 2018.

"Tomorrow, a delegation from the Ministry of Oil... will visit the Kurdish region to negotiate the mechanism for receiving oil from the region and exporting it. The export process will resume within a week," Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani told reporters.

According to Reuters, he added that Baghdad would receive 300,000 barrels per day from the region.

Erbil-based Rudaw TV earlier cited Kurdistan's natural resources minister, Kamal Mohammed, as saying oil exports could resume before March as all legal procedures have been completed.

The Iraqi parliament approved a budget amendment this month to subsidize production costs for international oil companies operating in Kurdistan, a move aimed at unblocking northern oil exports.

The resumption is expected to ease economic pressure in the Kurdistan region, where the halt has led to salary delays for public sector workers and cuts to essential services.