For the Love of Egypt wins majority of expatriate votes
For the Love of Egypt, an electoral list formed in response to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s plea for a unified front in parliament, gained the majority of Egyptian expatriate votes during the first round of parliamentary elections.
The High Elections Committee held a press conference on Tuesday to announce the results of the votes of Egyptians abroad in the first stage of the polls.
According to the committee, a total of 30,531 people voted in the elections from overseas, with 1,856 invalid votes.
The pro-Sisi For the Love of Egypt list garnered a whopping majority, with 15,529 votes. The Call of Egypt list came in second place with 3,076 votes, followed by the Egypt list, which received 2,969 votes. The Independent National Reawakening Bloc list received 1,403 votes.
State-run newspaper Al-Ahram had reported earlier on Sunday that voting for Egyptians abroad during the first stage of the elections saw an average turnout — with the most votes cast in Kuwait — and a generally higher turnout in the Gulf countries.
There was a strong emphasis on the inclusion of Egyptians living abroad in the political process during this round of parliamentary elections, as the Egyptian parliament now includes a set number of seats allocated for Egyptian expatriates for the first time since its establishment in 1866.
A total of eight seats were allocated for Egyptians expatriates with the electoral lists system, stating that each list must include a representative of the Egyptian diaspora, with one seat for each 15-member party list and three seats for every 45-member list.
Egyptians with dual nationalities were also allowed to run for parliament for the first time.
The decision was met with some backlash, with people questioning the nationalism of these potential candidates, and faced an appeal against it in court.
However, earlier in March, the Constitutional Court ruled against banning dual nationals from running for the parliament as being unconstitutional.
Egyptians living abroad voted in the parliamentary elections on October 17-18 in 139 embassies and consulates across the world, according to HEC head Ayman Abbass.
Abbass added that the committee used 200 tablets, in addition to computers, to connect the various polling stations in foreign countries to the HEC headquarters in Egypt.


