Cairo: Chairman of the State Information Service (SIS) Diaa Rashwan announced that SIS has completed preparations to organize the international media organizations' coverage of the Senate elections, which began for Egyptians abroad and are scheduled to start in Egypt next Monday and Tuesday, August 4-5, 2025. An Operations Room chaired by the SIS Chairman, including representatives from the press center for foreign correspondents and the internal media and information sector within SIS, will facilitate quick communication for foreign media organizations approved by the National Election Authority (NEA) to aid their election coverage and eliminate potential obstacles.
According to State Information Service Egypt, the Senate elections are drawing significant international media attention. Numerous leading global media organizations and their representatives have submitted requests to observe the electoral process. He confirmed that 86 Arab and foreign media bodies, specifically 82 media organizations and four media services companies, have been accredited and issued permits. The comprehensive list includes 21 leading news agencies, 25 TV channels, 23 newspapers and magazines, and three prominent e-news websites.
Rashwan highlighted that the media organizations hail from 32 countries, including the USA, Canada, Cuba, Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy, United Kingdom, Belgium, Switzerland, France, and Netherlands, alongside media outlets from Russia, China, Japan, Turkey, Vietnam, and Bangladesh. He also noted the presence of representatives from media organizations in 14 Arab countries, including UAE, Qatar, Jordan, KSA, Iraq, Kuwait, Tunisia, Morocco, and others.
Rashwan detailed the establishment of an Operations Room to organize and monitor international media's election coverage. The press center for foreign correspondents will ensure instant follow-up, via phone and other communication methods, with foreign media organizations' correspondents. This includes providing them with necessary facilities and official data promptly, ensuring their adherence to professional press standards, and addressing any obstacles they face or responding to violations of applicable international press and journalism standards.
SIS Chairman emphasized that media organizations covering the elections must adhere to several general regulations. These include avoiding mixing opinion with news, ensuring information accuracy, using credible sources, employing clear headlines that reflect the content, utilizing news-related images, accurately using terms and names, and avoiding selective quoting that distorts statements. Conducting opinion surveys before voting stations is prohibited, emphasizing the importance of respecting all opinions and the right of reply, avoiding the use of religious symbols for any nominees and parties, and obtaining coverage permissions.
Rashwan stated that the SIS internal media and information sectors are monitoring all election-related materials and items to be published globally on an hourly basis. They provide election-concerned bodies with periodical bulletins to assess the published materials, correct any misinformation or inaccuracies about the elections, while ensuring facilities for correspondents to cover the elections without any barriers. He stressed that SIS possesses vast experience in managing such events to ensure they proceed smoothly, as demonstrated in previous elections.