Egypt Presidential Race Set for Late May

The High Judicial Presidential Elections Commission has finally set May 23-24 for the first presidential election in post-January 25 revolution Egypt, with expatriates casting their absentee ballots earlier, May 11-17.

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday evening, Councilor Farouk Sultan, head of the Commission, said that the final electoral results would be announced before June 30, 2012. He explained that the Commission would accept candidates’ applications between March 10 and April 8, adding that any complaints should be filed no later than April 11-13, while the final list of presidential hopefuls would be published on April 26. The campaigning, Sultan said, would run between April 30 and May 20.

Any complaints following the elections should be submitted no later than May 27, and campaigning for the runoff phase may continue up till May 30. Sultan pointed out that the runoff election would take place on June 16-17 for those living in Egypt and May 11-17 for expatriates. The vote counts will be completed by June 18 and any decisions made regarding appeals will be publicized on June 21.