Egyptians vote for president; Sisi likely to win third term
- 10 Dec 2023
Egyptians began voting on Sunday in a presidential election in which President Abdel-Fattah Al Sisi faces no serious challenger and is certain to win another term, keeping him in power until 2030.
The election has been overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Almost all Egyptians’ attention has been on the war on their country’s eastern borders and the suffering of Palestinian civilians in the coastal enclave.
The three-day vote, beginning on Sunday, is also taking place amid a staggering economic crisis in Egypt, a country of 105 million people in which nearly a third live in poverty, according to official figures. The crisis stems from mismanagement of the economy but also from the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine, which rattled the global economy.
The vote runs for three days, starting Sunday, with a runoff scheduled for Jan. 8-10 if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote, according to the National Election Authority, a judicial-chaired body that runs the electoral process. Egyptian expatriates cast their ballots on Dec. 1-3.
Ahead of the vote, the interior ministry, which oversees police forces, deployed thousands of troops across the country to secure the election.
Sisi faces three other candidates: Farid Zahran, head of the opposition Social Democratic Party; Abdel-Sanad Yamama, chairman of Wafd Party; and Hazem Omar, head of the Republican People’s Party.
Voters line up for the presidential elections at a polling station, in Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday. AP
An ambitious young presidential hopeful, Ahmed Altantawy, dropped out of the race after he failed to secure the required signatures from residents to secure his candidacy.
Sisi voted at a polling centre in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis as soon as the polls opened at 9am. He made no comment before leaving the centre.
Other candidates, also cast their ballots on Sunday morning, including Zahran, who wore the black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh scarf as he voted on Sunday morning in a Cairo polling station.
Local TV stations aired scenes outside polling centers, with women and children, mostly Sisi supporters, seen waving Egyptian flags.
A person carries a picture of Abdel Fattah Al Sisi on the first day of the election in Cairo on Sunday. Reuters
The vote runs for three days, starting Sunday, with a runoff scheduled for Jan. 8-10 if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote, according to the National Election Authority, a judicial-chaired body that runs the electoral process. Egyptian expatriates cast their ballots on Dec.1-3.
Ahead of the vote, the interior ministry, which oversees police forces, deployed thousands of troops across the country to secure the election.
More than 67 million people are eligible to vote, and authorities are hoping for a high turnout to give the election legitimacy.
Voters mark their fingers with election ink during the first day of the presidential election in Cairo, Egypt. Reuters
Sisi was reelected in 2018 for a second, four-year term. In 2019, constitutional amendments, passed in a general referendum, added two years to Sisi’s second term, and allowed him to run for a third, six-year term.
Associated Press