New measures are being implemented to prevent potential voter fraud or forgery in the upcoming presidential election, said a senior official of the election's monitoring body on Thursday. Hatem Bagato, the secretary general of the Presidential Elections Commission, told Al-Masry Al-Youm Thursday that the voter registration system will be updated from the one used during parliamentary elections. The commission has set the presidential vote to take place on 23 and 24 May, with final results to be announced on 21 June. The candidate registration period will take place between 10 March and 8 April. Bagato said voters will be required to write the last three numbers from their citizen ID cards in front of their names on voter lists. This will prevent voters from casting ballots on the behalf of other people, as those numbers are only known to the holder of the ID, he said. If a voter attempts to vote in someone else's place, the wronged voter can submit an appeal to the commission. If it turns out that fraud has occurred, the officer on duty where it took place will be held accountable, Bagato continued. Bagato said the elections committee will convene in a couple of days to set the rules for election campaigns. “We are steadfast in firmly dealing with any violations,” he added. The secretary general also expressed astonishment about the debate that has taken place over Article 28 of the Constitutional Declaration, which protects the elections commission from legal appeals. He said it is not in the commission's benefit to rig the election results in anyone's favor. Updating the voter database is being carried out under full judicial supervision, Bagato said, adding that he is working to remove the names of deceased citizens from voter lists.
