Pope Tawadros II casts his vote in the 2024 presidential election, that kicked off early on Sunday 10/12/2023.

Voting, which began at 9 a.m., will run for three days, with results due to be announced on December 18.

The pontiff urged Egyptians to actively take part in the election because it is a constitutional duty.

Pope Tawadros said that every Egyptian should participate freely and responsibly in the elections, stressing that the Church is part of the nation and has to participate in the electoral process like any other state institutions.

Pope Tawadros also stressed that participation in the election is obligatory and is an expression of citizenship.

He lauded the well organization of the electoral process, saying it is held under full judicial supervision.

He added that judicial supervision guarantees the transparency and integrity of the elections.

The candidates running for the presidency include incumbent President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who is running for a third term in office and whose electoral symbol is a star; Farid Zahran, the leftist opposition Social Democratic Party candidate with the sun as his electoral symbol; Abdel-Sanad Yamama, candidate of the Wafd party who has chosen the palm tree as his electoral symbol; and Hazem Omar, the Republican People's Party candidate, with the ladder as his electoral symbol.

The National Elections Authority (NEA) has completed all necessary preparations for the election, including the establishment of 11,631 polling stations in 9,376 electoral centers.

MENA