CAIRO
An aide to vanquished presidential contender Hamdeen Sabahi said Friday that the latter's campaign would file a complaint with Egypt's electoral commission regarding electoral "violations" that marred a just-concluded presidential vote.
"We will file a memorandum with the electoral commission documenting all the violations that marred the vote," Sabahi's legal adviser, Tareq Negeida, told Anadolu Agency.
Results provided by 13,893 polling stations across Egypt after the three-day poll showed former army chief Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi winning some 23.5 million votes, while his only competitor, Sabahi won only 791,153, or 3.3 percent of the total, according to an AA tally.
Sabahi on Thursday conceded defeat, saying he respected the choice of the people. But he went on to cite alleged violations that had marred the polls, the preliminary results of which, he asserted, "insult the intelligence of the Egyptian people."
But while he said the irregularities had not greatly influenced the election results, Sabahi said he was nevertheless keen to mention them as he was keen to protect Egypt's interests in the future.
Friday is the deadline for the two campaigns to file any challenges or complaints regarding decisions made by the electoral commission during the polling process.
Hamed Gabr, a member of the Sabahi campaign's legal committee, told AA that the complaint would revolve around three issues.
"Some police stations refrained from filing reports in response to Sabahi representatives at several polling stations; al-Sisi's electoral propaganda continued during the vote; and voting was extended for a third day in violation of the law," Gabr said.
Yet, Gabr asserted, the complaint would not challenge the election results, as Sabahi has already conceded defeat.
Official results should be announced by the presidential election commission before June 5.
The election was widely boycotted by supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi and youth groups opposed to al-Sisi's presidential bid.
In a bid to encourage voting, the government declared Tuesday, the second day of voting, an official holiday. The electoral commission also extended the two-day vote, which kicked off Monday, by an extra day.
The presidential election is the second step on Egypt's transitional roadmap, which was imposed by the army following Morsi's ouster last July.
By Hagar al-Dosoki
www.aa.com.tr/en
