No fraud in expat vote, Egypt says

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CAIRO, May 15 (UPI) -- Cairo said there weren't any serious concerns of voter fraud in the ballots cast for the presidential election by Egyptians living overseas.

Egyptian expatriates were eligible to start voting last weekend.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Amr Roshdy said the expatriate vote was proceeding well and foreign embassies were reporting the vote was free and fair, the Egyptian Independent news service reports.

There were irregularities, Roshdy said, but most were attributed to human error rather than attempts at fraud. The Egyptian Embassy in Washington said some voters had tried to vote there despite having sent paper ballots through the mail.

Egyptians are eligible to vote in their first presidential election since the revolution starting May 23. There are 13 candidates competing in the election.

The Supreme Council of Armed Forces, the ruling military authority, said it would hand power over to a civilian government once the elections are finalized during the summer.