Egypt's National Elections Authority (NEA) announced on Wednesday evening that it is extending the voting deadline on the third and final day of the country's presidential elections by one hour, saying polling stations will close at 10pm instead of 9pm, state owned MENA news agency reported. NEA head Ibrahim Lashin said in an official statement that the deadline has been extended due to the high voter turnout at polling stations. Lashin added that the extension is also to give all voters a chance to cast their ballot given the bad weather conditions in some governorates. Cairo and other governorates have been hit by sand storms throughout the day on Wednesday. Lashin expressed his gratitude for the judges supervising the electoral process and for their understanding of the decision to extend the deadline. He also thanked Egypt's Armed Forces and police for securing polling stations. In the south Cairo district of Helwan, some voters headed to the polls on Wednesday night enduring the sand storm (Photo: Ahram Arabic news website) The election process is being supervised by 18,000 judges, with tens of thousands of army and police personnel deployed to secure polling stations. Around 59 million Egyptians are registered as eligible to vote in the presidential elections between incumbent President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Ghad Party chairman Moussa Mostafa Moussa. Sandstorm leaves streets deserted in some parts of the capital ahead of polls closing at 10pm (Photo Ahram Online)
