Today, Thursday, the National Elections Authority, headed by Counselor Hazem Badawi, announces the final list of candidates for the presidential elections with their electoral symbols. Election campaigning for the candidates is scheduled to begin with the announcement of the list.
The electoral propaganda period continues for a month, ending with the start of the electoral silence set by the National Elections Authority, headed by Counselor Hazem Badawi, on December 8th. Within the framework of reducing electoral violations, the Authority issued a decision to form committees to monitor violations of electoral propaganda controls in the 2023 presidential elections. In all governorates of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Definition of election propaganda
The National Elections Authority, in its Resolution No. 15 of 2023 regarding electoral propaganda, defined electoral propaganda as through limited and public meetings, dialogues, publishing and distributing electoral propaganda materials, placing posters and banners, using audio, visual, print and electronic media, and other activities permitted by law or decisions. Issued by the National Elections Authority.
Prohibitions on advertising
In electoral propaganda, the provisions of the Constitution, the law, and the decisions of the National Elections Authority must be adhered to, and it is particularly prohibited to carry out any of the following actions.
1- Infringing on the sanctity of the private life of any of the candidates
2- Threatening national unity or using religious slogans or slogans that call for discrimination between citizens.
3- Using violence or threatening to use it.
4- Providing gifts, donations, cash or in-kind assistance, or other benefits, or promising to provide them, whether directly or indirectly.
5-Using buildings, facilities, and transportation means owned by the state, public sector companies, or the public business sector in any way.
6- Using government departments, public facilities, places of worship, schools, universities, other public and private educational institutions, and the headquarters of associations and civil society organizations in electoral propaganda.
7- Spending public money and the funds of public sector companies, the public business sector, associations and civil society institutions for the purposes of electoral propaganda.
8- Writing by any means on the walls of government or private buildings.
9- It is prohibited for those holding political positions and those holding senior management positions in the state to participate in any way in electoral propaganda, with the intention of positively or negatively affecting the outcome of the elections, or in a way that violates equal opportunities between the candidates.
Spending on advertising
The maximum amount each candidate can spend on his electoral campaign is twenty million pounds, and in the case of runoff elections, the maximum spending is five million pounds.
The candidate’s electoral campaign will be financed from his own funds, and the candidate may receive cash or in-kind donations from Egyptian natural persons, provided that the amount of the donation from any natural person does not exceed two percent of the maximum limit for spending in the electoral campaign.
The candidate is prohibited from receiving any contributions or support, in cash or in kind, for the electoral campaign from any Egyptian legal person, foreign natural or legal person, or from any country, foreign entity, international organization, or any entity in which a foreign person contributes to its capital.
Monitor advertising spending
The candidate is obligated to open an account in the local currency in one of the two banks: the National Bank of Egypt or the Bank of Egypt, in which he deposits all the funds allocated for his electoral campaign. He must notify the Authority of the name of the bank and the account number, and both: the bank in which the deposit is made and the candidate must inform the Authority immediately of what is being deposited. In this account and its source, the candidate is obligated to notify the Authority immediately of his expenditures from it, and it is not permissible to spend on the electoral campaign from outside it.
The Authority shall distribute the remaining balance in that account to those who contributed to it, in proportion to their contribution, in accordance with the procedures determined by the Authority following the announcement of the final result of the election.
The candidate must submit to the National Elections Authority, within fifteen days from the date of announcing the election results, a statement that includes the total amounts he obtained, their source and nature, the amounts he spent on the electoral campaign, and the aspects of this spending.
The Central Auditing Organization shall review the electoral campaign accounts of the candidates, provided that it submits a report on the results of its review to the National Elections Authority within fifteen days from the date these accounts are referred to it by the Authority.
It is worth noting that the National Elections Authority had announced the timetable for the procedures and dates for the presidential elections, which included opening the door for nominations on October 5 for a period of ten days ending on October 14, with the voting process for Egyptians abroad taking place on December 1, 2, and 3, and inside December 10, 11, and 12.
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