Egypt to bridge 4% of budget deficit through elections
Egypt’s National Elections Commission is set to impose a fine on Egyptians who did not take part in the March 2018 presidential elections.
CAIRO — Egypt’s National Elections Commission (NEC) is currently compiling a list of names of individuals who did not vote in the March 2018 presidential elections. The list will be submitted to the public prosecutor's office and those on it will face a fine of 500 Egyptian pounds ($28).
“In both cases, the government is a winner. When voters take part in the elections and the turnout is high, the elections are deemed honorable. When people abstain from participating in the elections, then the government steps in and imposes a fine,” Abdul Rahman Sayed, an accountant, told Al-Monitor.
While more than 24,250,000 voters took part in the elections in March, in which President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was re-elected for a second presidential term, 34,823,986 Egyptians eligible to vote did not.
In the early hours of March 28, which was the last day of the elections, the NEC threatened to impose fines on those who were planning to stay home in a bid to motivate the citizens to participate.
