Egyptian expatriates will head to polls in 124 countries on Friday to vote in the presidential elections.
The operation will last three days, ending on Sunday night. The elections in Egypt will begin on March 26 and also last three days.
Competing are incumbent Abdul Fattah al-Sisi and al-Ghad party head Moussa Mustafa Moussa.
Sisi had on Thursday called for a heavy turnout in the elections, saying: “If (all Egyptians) vote and a third say ‘No’, that would be a lot better than if half that number turn out and all of them say ‘Yes’.”
Sisi also told a conference of military officers and relatives of soldiers killed in action that his first four years in office had brought stability and security after the tumult which followed the popular uprising of 2011.
“We achieved our promise and you have to achieve your promise. As we didn’t abandon you, you should not abandon (us),” he added during a visit to the Interior Ministry.
Sisi is seen as by Egyptians as the favorite in the elections.
There are some 9,470,674 Egyptian expatriates, according to a 2017 census. Sixty-five percent of them reside in Arab countries, 13.2 in Europe, 16.7 in North and South America, 3.7 in Asia and Australia and 0.5 in Africa.
The National Election Authority had stressed that each Egyptian abroad has the right to vote in the presidential elections.
Minister of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates' Affairs Nabil Makram called, in an address to expatriates, for a heavy turnout, saying it was a constitutional right for very Egyptian.
“We need to support the nation during this time and we need to highlight the role of expatriates in the elections,” she added.
“They are soldiers that defend their country on this day and their participation in the elections is a national duty,” she declared.
“The effort of an Egyptian abroad in casting his vote is equal to the effort the soldier exerts in combating terrorism,” she stressed.
