Moderate turnout in Daqahleya, Qena; limited in October, Zayed on final day of voting
On the third and final day of voting in the 2018 presidential election, Egyptian citizens across the nation headed to polling stations on Wednesday to elect their next president, choosing between two candidates: incumbent President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and head of El-Ghad Party Moussa Mostafa Moussa.
In Sixth of October, polling stations witnessed limited turnout on the final day of voting. Polling centres at Nahdat Misr Private School, in the distinctive Al Motamayez neighbourhood, witnessed limited turnout.The neighbourhood is considered one of the upscale neighbourhoods of Sixth October, where many celebrities live.
One of the voters at the station was Ayman Sersawy, a 49-year-old engineer, who said he cast his ballot for Al-Sisi, the “saviour of nation,” and called upon the “lazy” younger generations to go to polling stations and cast their ballots and not to be on the same side as “traitors” who want to “destroy” Egypt.
Lobna Safwat, 43, a housewife, said she voted for the nation, not for a person. “I do not care about the candidate you will elect, but you should vote, for the sake of the future of the nation,” she said.
On another side of the city, at Osama bin Zaid Preparatory School in the 10th District, a number of citizens gathered in front of the polling station, celebrating and raising Egypt’s flags and Al-Sisi’s photos. Turnout at the station was moderate with a notable presence of women, according to the head of the station, who refused to disclose his name.
Polling centres at Sheikh Zayed Secondary School witnessed limited to moderate turnout on the final day of voting.
Most Sixth of October and Sheikh Zayed residents belong to other governorates.
In the governorate of Daqahleya, rural districts such as Belqas, Mit Ghamr, and Miniat Al-Nasr recorded higher turnout than Mansoura, the capital city of the governor ate, according to Mon a Basha, a journalist based in Mansoura. Basha said that the second and final day of the election witnessed higher turnout from middle-aged Egyptians, adding that a small number from younger generations cast their ballots. Students at Mansoura University organised a rally in the streets surrounding the university to call upon citizens to vote in the election.
In the governorate of Beheira, west of the Nile Delta, a journalist based in Damanhour, the capital city of the governorate, told Daily News Egypt that the governorate witnessed limited turnout in most of its areas. He also stressed the limited presence of younger generations at polling stations.
The governorate of Fayoum, in Middle Egypt, continued to witness an above moderate turnout of voters.
To the south, in the governorate of Qena in Upper Egypt, the final day of voting witnessed moderate turnout at polling stations, particularly in rural regions compared to urban centres. According to Daily News Egypt’s source there, the governorate witnessed high turnout overall during the three-day voting process.