Polling stations nationwide opened its doors on Monday, the third day of voting in a referendum on constitutional amendments, with embassies and consulates abroad ended their three days on Sunday. More than 61 million Egyptians are eligible to vote in the referendum on the amendments to the 2014 charter, which were recently overwhelmingly approved by parliament. The referendum on the amendments to a number of articles of the constitution, which includes an extension of the presidential term began nationwide on Saturday and abroad on Friday. Earlier on Sunday, Egypt s National Elections Authority (NEA) said it would not be extending its three days of voting, dismissing reports claiming otherwise. Head of Egypt s Judges Club Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen said on Monday that the club s central operations room has not received any complaints with regards to the voting process. In statements to MENA news agency, the club s spokesman Reda Mahmoud said that Abdel-Mohsen is receiving regular updates on the voting process, which is taking place under full judicial supervision provided by over 19,000 judges. The NEA said on Monday that voting is proceeding normally and in an orderly fashion in all parts of Egypt on the third and final day of the referendum. Polling stations across the country opened on time at 9am, and the NEA has not received any complaints regarding the vote in any of the governorates, said NEA chairman Lashin Ibrahim. Voting An Egyptian man casts his vote at a polling station in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria as Egyptians continue to take part in a referendum on constitutional amendments on the second day of a three-day poll, on April 21, 2019 (Photo: AFP) The constitutional amendments referendum abroad, which started on Friday, took place in 140 polling stations in Egyptian consulates and embassies in 124 countries. According to Ahram Arabic, the Egyptian embassies in Russia , Uganda, Ukraine , Saudi Arabia and United Arab closed their doors in front of expat voters as the referendum ended 9 PM according to their local time. Meanwhile, the NEA said it has not received any reports that voters were being "bribed" to cast their ballots in the ongoing national referendum on the amendments to the country s constitution. The NEA didn t not mention specific numbers on the turnout in the referendum voting, however it said that the first day of voting [Saturday] saw "a higher turnout than any other first day of voting in any formerly held elections of any kind in the country." NEA s spokesperson Judge Mahmoud El-Sharif said that the authority would immediately deal with any electoral violations, including bribes, within the law. On Saturday, several reports suggested that voters were receiving a food package in exchange for voting on the amendments, which would see an extension of President Abdel-Fattah s El-Sisi s term from four to six years. Critics of the constitutional amendmendts fear the may constitute a step in the return to authoritarian rule in the country by increasing the president s grip on power.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has approved a new law promoting e-payment services, part of a broader govenment drive to boost financial inclusion and reduce reliance on cash. Under the new law, approved by parliament in March, government institutions and private companies must use electronic payment to pay employees, contractors and service providers.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received a telephone call from German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday during which they discussed a number of regional issues, the most important of which being the situation in Libya, Presidency Spokesperson Bassam Rady said. Sisi affirmed Egypt s position on the unity, stability and security of Libya. He also stressed support for counter-terrorism efforts against extremist groups and militias, which pose a threat not only to Libya, but also to the security and stability of the Middle East and the Mediterranean region.

A finance ministry report on Egypt s new budget (2019/20) showed that fuel subsidies will be reduced by EGP 36.112 billion (40 percent) in the new fiscal year, Finance Minister Mohamed Mait said in a review of the 2019/20 budget before parliament on Tuesday. The report said the government decided to reduce fuel subsidies from EGP 89.075 in 2018/19 s budget to EGP 52.963 billion in the 2019/20 budget.

Egypt will hold a popular referendum next week on proposed constitutional amendments that the parliament will pass in a final vote on Monday. Egyptian expatriates will go to the polls on 20 April, a source close to the National Election Authority told Ahram Online on Sunday.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday met with Libyan National Army Commander Marshal Khalifa Hafer at the Ittihadeya Presidential Palace, where they discussed developments in Libya while Sisi stressed Egypt’s keenness for the unity, stability and security of Libya. In a statement from his official Facebook page, Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said that during their meeting, Sisi stated his nation’s support for counter-terrorism efforts and fighting extremist groups and militias to achieve security and stability for Libya and it’s people.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi signed on Thursday several MoUs with Alassane Ouattara, the president of the Ivory Coast, on cooperation in health, culture and information technology. El-Sisi arrived in the Ivory Coast early on Thursday in the first ever visit by an Egyptian president to the West African country.

The Egyptian parliament s constitutional and legislative affairs committee began on Tuesday deliberating on proposed amendments to the country s 2014 constitution. The deliberations, led by parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal, will continue on Wednesday. "At the end of this two-day deliberation, a mini-committee will be formed to take charge of drawing up the final draft of the proposed amendments," said Abdel-Aal.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed Middle East peace efforts during talks in Washington with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, according to a statement by the Egyptian presidency. El-Sisi pledged that Cairo will continue to support efforts to ensure “a just, lasting solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on resolutions of international legitimacy, the two-state solution and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi will travel to Washington DC on Monday for the second time since he assumed office in 2014. El-Sisi will meet with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, to discuss bilateral and regional issues. Besides bilateral relations, El-Sisi s meetings in Washington will focus on the latest developments in the Middle East, especially the Palestinian cause and peace process, according to a State Intelligence Service news report.

Egypt s economy has achieved its highest growth rate within a decade to reach 5.5 percent due to the economic reform programme adopted by the government, Planning Minister Hala El-Saeed said on Saturday. Minister El-Saeed made the remarks while reviewing Egypt s economic reform programme with Adviser to Pakistan s Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Ishrat Hussain on the fringe of the 44th annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) board of governors in Morocco, taking place on April 5-6 in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi started on Sunday a tour to Guinea, Ivory Coast, Senegal and the United States, presidential spokesperson Bassam Rady said in a statement. Rady said that the president s tour to West Africa comes as part of Egypt s keenness to intensify communication and coordination with its African brothers, as well as to strengthen its relations with the countries of the continent in various fields, including economic, trade and investment relations, especially during Egypt s current chairmanship of the African Union (AU).

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi visited on Sunday Gamal Abdel-Nasser University in Conakry, Guinea accompanied by his Guinean counterpart Alpha Condé. The largest and first higher education institution in Guinea, the university was named after late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel-Nasser in 1970.

A final parliamentary vote on changing the 2014 constitution is expected on 14 April. Following a vote on the 2017/2018 budget this week Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal told MPs that “our next sitting will be held on 14 April and I think all of you will be keen to attend the historic meeting”. “It will be a very important plenary session and attendance is essential.” A two-thirds majority of MPs in favour of the amendments is needed for them to pass. “Parliament took a provisional vote on 14 February and, in line with the constitution and parliamentary rules, a final vote on the report of the draft of the constitutional amendments must be held within two months,” Abdel-Moneim Al-Oleimi, independent MP and a member of parliament s Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee, told Al-Ahram Weekly. A two-week consultative process on the amendments concluded on 28 March.

President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi s scheduled three-day visit to the US capital next week will have Middle East peace as its underlining theme. According to a White House statement issued during the last week of March, US President Donald Trump will meet Al-Sisi in the Oval Office on 9 April for talks that will cover “developments and shared priorities in the region, including enhancing regional economic integration and addressing ongoing conflicts, and Egypt s longstanding role as a lynchpin of regional stability”.

A 13-member sub-committee will finish a report on proposed amendments to Egypt s constitution on Wednesday, according to Bahaaeddin Abu Shoqa, leader of the Wafd Party and chairman of parliament s legislative and constitutional affairs committee. In a meeting held on Sunday, Abu Shoqa indicated that a sub-committee headed by MP Ahmed Helmi El-Sherif, deputy chairman of the legislative affairs committee, will be entrusted with collecting all the remarks and comments which were sent to parliament in a written form or expressed in during the national dialogue held between 20 and 28 March.

Egypt s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Tuesday directed the government to cut public expenditure and go ahead with monetary reforms to improve the country s financial capacity and provide necessary resources for enhancing basic services offered to citizens in all fields. El-Sisi s directives came during a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, the Central Bank Governor and the ministers of planning, trade and public business sector, as well as other officials.

Egypt s oil trade balance achieved for the first time in four years a surplus of $150.8 million during the first half of fiscal year 2018/19, compared to a deficit of $2.2 billion in the same period the previous fiscal year, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced. In a report released on Monday, the CBE said the volume of goods exports increased by 18.4 percent to reach $14.3 billion in the first half of FY 2018/19, against $12.1 billion the previous year.

Companies affiliated with the business sector in Egypt made net profits of EGP 11.3 billion in the fiscal year 2017/18, with total earnings of EGP 18.5 billion reported by profitable companies and losses estimated at EGP 7.2 billion by the unprofitable ones, said Public Business Sector Minister Hisham Tawfik on Monday. Delivering the inaugural speech at the Influential Growth annual conference, organised by the economic newspaper Hapi Journal, Minister Tawfik said that his ministry seeks to achieve sustainable development for the public business sector with a view to making a leap in the profits of its affiliate companies.

Egypt will keep its customs exchange rate steady at EGP 16 to the dollar for strategic and essential goods for April, the finance ministry said on Monday. The ministry reduced the exchange rate for unnecessary or luxury goods to EGP 17.4 to the dollar. Egypt began setting a monthly fixed customs exchange rate in January 2017, following the central bank s decision to float the Egyptian pound in November 2016. The dollar was set at EGP 16 in August 2018. The finance ministry has since reviewed the rate every month.

Egypt s Red Sea governorate has decided to ban single-use or disposable plastics, starting from June. According to the Association for the Protection of the Environment, the decision, made by the governor, aims to protect wildlife, marine life and endangered species, all of which have been severely affected by plastic due to ingestion, poisoning or suffocation.