Egypt votes, el-sissi certain to be winner
CAIRO: Egyptians voted on Monday in a presidential election set to deliver an easy win for incumbent Abdel Fattah al-sisi, with turnout the main focus after all serious opposition withdrew complaining of repression.
Sisi has urged Egyptians to vote, hinting that he sees the election as a referendum on his rule rather than a serious democratic contest. Polling stations will be open for three days in an apparent effort to garner as many votes as possible for him.
Many Egyptians, as well as the country’s Arab and Western allies including Washington, see Sisi as vital to stability as unrest since 2011 has hurt the economy. However, his critics say he has presided over Egypt’s worst crackdown on dissent and describe the vote as a charade.
Sisi, 63, faces only one challenger who is a long-time supporter of the president.
The former general, who led the military’s overthrow of Egypt’s first democraticallyelected president Mohamed Mursi in 2013, is trying to defeat Islamist insurgents in the Sinai Peninsula and complete a series of mega-projects inaugurated with great fanfare since he came to power.
Authorities have ramped up nationalist rhetoric and painted participation in the election as helping the fight against Islamists and other unspecified enemies.