As vote begins, Egypt counting on turnout to lend legitimacy
CAIRO — Egyptians began voting Monday in an election that virtually guaranteed another term for President Abdel-Fattah elSissi, who faced only a token opponent in balloting that resembled the referendums held by autocrats for decades before the Arab Spring briefly raised hopes of democratic change.
El-Sissi’s only challenger was Moussa Mustafa Moussa, a little-known politician who joined the race at the last minute to spare the government the embarrassment of a one-candidate election after several hopefuls were forced out or arrested.
Authorities hope enough of Egypt’s nearly 60 million eligible voters will participate in the three-day election to give it legitimacy. Local media, which are dominated by pro-government commentators, have called voting a national obligation and the only way to prevent foreigners from sowing instability.
There were only modest lines at most polling places Monday.
Officials overseeing four polling centers in the greater Cairo area said turnout hovered around 7 percent by 6 p.m., three hours before the scheduled close.
El-Sissi led the 2013 military overthrow of Egypt’s first freely elected president, the Islamist Mohammed Morsi.
Moussa, who supported el-Sissi until he joined the race, made no effort to mount a challenge, and the president never mentioned him in public.
The vote came amid the harshest crackdown on dissent in Egypt’s modern history, with thousands of Islamists as well as prominent secular activists in jail.