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Egyptians in Syria, Yemen, Libya unable to vote in parliamentary elections

September 16, 2015 at 9:00 am

Egyptians living in Syria, Yemen and Libya will not be able to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for 17-18 October, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency reported.

A spokesman for Egypt’s Higher Elections Committee (HEC), Omar Marwan, said: “The Committee has decided to cancel voting for expatriates in the 2015 parliament elections in countries stricken by armed conflicts such as Libya, Yemen and Syria.”

HEC announced yesterday that staff working at polling stations abroad will consist of diplomatic and consular officials.

Egyptian expatriates are scheduled to cast their votes in the election in two phases: the first round is to take place 17-18 October, while the second will be carried out on 21-22 October.

Deputy Foreign Minister and Chairman of the Expat Voting Committee, Ambassador Hamdi Sanad Loza, said told Egypt’s Al-Ahram newspaper last week that “there are 139 polling stations abroad”.

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi said last month that the parliament will convene at the end of this year urging the Egyptian armed forces and the police to secure polling stations.