According to the statement issued by Egypt’s Ministry of Interior, eight people were arrested in Alexandria, Giza, Fayoum, and Suez for forging those unofficial endorsements.

A total of 596 blank copies of the forged powers of attorney were found in their possession, the statement said, adding that the owner of the printing house that printed the forged powers of attorney was also identified and arrested.

The source added that the eight people were handed over to the public prosecution.

On Saturday, Presidential hopeful Ahmed Tantawi said that his campaign would prepare unofficial endorsement forms for the public to fill and send to his campaign headquarters to complete the endorsement requirement.

These endorsements would then be presented to the National Election Commission (NEA) if he fails to obtain the official ones before the deadline set by the NEA.

The step has sparked controversy over the legality of his call to issue powers of attorney without completing the notarization process.