Preliminary indications for the vote of Egyptian expatriates in the presidential elections on the first day, Thursday, and in the early hours of the second day, Friday, show so far that more than 100,000 Egyptians have voted, said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Badr Abdel Aaty.
The voting process takes place in a calm and orderly atmosphere dominated by a spirit of celebration among voters who participate in a high turnout, especially as Friday is a holiday in Arab countries, Abdel Aaty added.
The staff of Egyptian embassies and consulates are making great efforts to complete the voting process smoothly, especially after they started to use an e-reader for the first time to face the large numbers of voters at polling stations in Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE.
The number of voters in Kuwait are about 18,000 voters, in Saudi Arabia including Riyadh and Jeddah about 23,000 voters, and the UAE including Abu Dhabi and Dubai about 14,000 voters, Abdel Aaty said.
The task force of the Foreign Ministry is following up the voting of Egyptian expatriates in presidential elections and continues to receive reports on the turnout in 141 polling stations in 124 countries, Abdel Aaty said.
The polling stations in the countries of east and southeast Asia, in the Gulf region and European countries welcomed voters beginning Friday at 9am, local time in these countries, according to Abdel Aaty.
Polling stations in Australia, Germany, Italy, France and Britain, in addition to New York witnessed a remarkable turnout which is expected to increase significantly on Saturday and Sunday for being holiday in these countries, Abdel Aaty mentioned.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
