By Aswat Masriya The total number of Egyptian expatriates who voted in the first phase of legislative elections was 30,531 in 139 embassies and consulates across the world, said Ayman Abbas, head of the Supreme Elections Committee (SEC) Tuesday. Egyptians living abroad cast their ballots on Oct. 17 and 18, but of the over 680,000 expatriates eligible to vote in 161 countries, according to the latest census conducted before the constitutional referendum in 2014, only 4.48 percent turned up. Invalid votes amounted to 1,856 leaving only 28,675, Abbas said at a press conference. The number of Egyptians living abroad is estimated at eight million. An assistant to Egypt’s foreign minister told Aswat Masriya on Sunday, the last day of voting overseas, that turnout was “moderate”, in a premonition to a similarly low turnout inside Egypt, where empty polling stations became the subject of ridicule by young people calling for a boycott. SEC had announced late afternoon on the first day of elections at home that the turnout rate stood at 2.27 percent, but has yet to make any more statements on the issue, even though Egypt’s Prime Minister Sherif Ismail…
Less than Five Percent of Egyptians Abroad Participated in Elections
October 21, 2015
