The Egyptian National Election Authority (NEA) has denied the occurrence of any violations, favouritism, or mistreatment of any individual at the notarization offices responsible for issuing endorsement forms for prospective candidates in the upcoming presidential elections.

"All the claims raised in this regard, which have been monitored and investigated by the National Election Authority, are nothing more than baseless and false allegations," read the NEA's statement.

The NEA added that all the decisions concerning the election process conform with the constitution and the law and with relevant international standards that guarantee equality of opportunity to all candidates.

The NEA's statement comes one day after Ahmed Tantawi, a potential candidate for the election, claimed that his supporters "faced difficulties" at notarization offices nationwide as they attempted to issue endorsements for him.

Presidential candidates must secure endorsements from 25,000 eligible voters across at least 15 governorates or 20 MPs.

In its statement, the election authority said it understands the competitive atmosphere surrounding any election, though it "absolutely refuses to be embroiled in any political disputes."

The NEA also rejected any attempts to offend it or to cast doubts on its independence, stressing that "no party has the right to interfere with its work in any way."

The election authority concluded the statement by stressing: "It welcomes all concerned parties to report any incidents supported by indubitable proof that certain errors or certain violations of the decisions issued by the authority had taken place to investigate their veracity and thereupon take immediate measures to rectify these errors and also take legal action to punish violators."

Ahram Online