Egyptian Artists Add Festive Mood to Presidential Elections

 Egyptian actor Adel Imam/AFP
Egyptian actor Adel Imam/AFP
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Egyptian Artists Add Festive Mood to Presidential Elections

 Egyptian actor Adel Imam/AFP
Egyptian actor Adel Imam/AFP

During the past three days of elections, a large number of Egyptian artists voted for the new President in a festive mood.

Their fame on television and cinema screens was therefore transmitted to polling stations across the country, and was quickly spread in short videos or photos on the social media.

One of those leading artists is actor Adel Imam, also nicknamed the Zaeem or the leader. Imam was filmed on Wednesday telling an employee responsible for checking names at the voters’ list, “eating pasta and stuffed zucchini was behind your obesity.”

The employee then replied to Imam that sitting down for long hours to watch his plays was behind her obesity.

Then the two were filmed while laughing at the jokes they made.

Some social media users also spread the photo of actor Lublouba while kissing the voting paper. She was then quoted as saying, “I kissed the paper because I was happy I voted. I did not know someone was taking a photo.”

Egyptian belly dancer, Sama el-Masry drove the attention of the media by attending one of the polling stations riding a motorcycle.

Voters raced to take photos with her before she casted her vote.

At one of the polling station in Misr al-Gadida, actress Laila Elwi spread an optimistic mood when she said, “Today, Egypt is happy to have you.”
Some voters had offered Elwi roses after she casted her vote.

Also, some reports said that Egyptian actor Hussein Fahmy has casted his voted twice, the first time in the UAE and the second time inside Egypt.

However, following the news, the National Elections Authority (NEA) held a press conference asserting that it was impossible for any voter to cast his ballot more than once because the NEA systematically removed the names of those who voted abroad from the voter database after the end of polls outside Egypt.

Popular singer Hakim was seen touring the streets of west Cairo in a convertible car, singing a song entitled “Abo el Regoula,” he had released this month calling on Egyptians to cast their votes.



Iraq's Population Reaches 45.4 Million in First Census in over 30 Years

Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)
Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)
TT

Iraq's Population Reaches 45.4 Million in First Census in over 30 Years

Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)
Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)

Iraq's population has risen to 45.4 million, according to preliminary results from a national census, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Monday.
The census, conducted on Nov. 20, was Iraq's first nationwide survey in more than three decades, marking a crucial step for future planning and development.
Prior to the census, the planning ministry estimated the population at 43 million.
The last census, conducted in 1997, did not include the Iraqi Kurdistan region, which has been under Kurdish administration since the 1991 Gulf War.
It counted 19 million Iraqis and officials estimated there were another 3 million in the Kurdish north, according to official statistics.