The deputy head of Egypt's National Elections Authority (NEA), Mahmoud El-Sherif, said in a press conference on Wednesday that the authority has no plans to extend the country's presidential vote into a fourth day, dismissing such reports as "rumours."

Egyptians headed to polling stations for the third and final day of voting on Wednesday to choose the next president as officials continued to encourage Egyptians to turn out to the polls.

The authority also announced on Wednesday it would be enforcing a fine of EGP 500 (approx. $28) on citizens who abstain from voting in the elections, according to the country's presidential elections law.

The legal penalty was not rigorously enforced in the last presidential elections in 2014.

El-Sherif said Wednesday that abstaining from voting constitutes an "electoral crime" and that the country's prosecutors are in charge of enforcing the penalty.

The authority said the final day of voting so far saw "large participation" at polling stations across the country, reiterating that the governorates of Cairo, Giza, Alexandria and even North Sinai, where the army is fighting Islamist militants, saw the biggest turnout.

Polls across the country close at 9pm.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is running against a sole challenger, Ghad Party head Moussa Mostafa Moussa, in this election.

President El-Sisi won the 2014 election in a landslide, gaining nearly 97 percent of the vote with a voter turnout of 47 percent.

The results are scheduled to be announced on 2 April, unless there is a run-off, which would take place on 24-26 April.