Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said he and other diplomats of the ministry are impartial toward all presidential candidates.
In a press conference on Thursday, Amr was asked about supporting Amr Moussa. Amr said the ministry, all its members and the minister are not biased toward any candidate, adding that policy bans the participation of diplomats and the minister in presidential campaigns and publicity.
“It’s a legal and moral commitment,” he said. “The Foreign Ministry cannot endorse any candidate, especially in this election that is considered a unique democratic experience.”
In response to question about if a diplomat in the Saudi embassy in Egypt is related to presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq, Amr said that the diplomat in question went on leave while Egyptian expatriates were voting.
Meanwhile, the minister said more than 224,000 Egyptian expatriates cast their ballots as of Thursday morning.
Although the number of actual voters didn’t equal the amount of registered voters, Amr said it was very successful experience.
The vote took place without problems, he said, but added that 25 voters double voted. He said the barcode system at Egyptian consulates helped uncover the double votes.
“Some voters sent their ballots by mail then went to the consulates and embassies to vote once more,” he said. “We cannot prove malintent. However, there were doubts that 10 or 15 cases were the result of bad intentions. A report was submitted to the Presidential Elections Commission to take the necessary steps.”
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
