Egyptians vote in election possible to provide Sisi third time period

CAIRO: Egyptians went to the polls on Sunday in a presidential election overshadowed by warfare in neighbouring Gaza and with little doubt the incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi would safe a 3rd time period.
In a rustic gripped by probably the most extreme monetary disaster in its current historical past — inflation has hovered close to 40 p.c after the foreign money misplaced half its worth and drove up the price of imports — the financial system is on the centre of Egyptians’ considerations.
Even earlier than the present disaster, about two-thirds of the nation’s almost 106 million folks have been residing on or under the poverty line.
Voting will happen till Tuesday, between 9:00 am and 09:00 pm (0700-1900 GMT) every day, with the official outcomes introduced on December 18.
In entrance of 1 Cairo polling station, posters bore messages to “get out and take part” whereas a DJ performed nationalist songs.
Some 67 million persons are eligible to vote, 5 million of whom had forged their ballots by 4:30 pm (1430 GMT) on Sunday, based on an announcement from the Nationwide Election Authority.
Turnout is anticipated to be a key indicator of public sentiment in an in any other case uncompetitive election. Final time, it fell six factors to 41.5 p.c.
Casting her poll within the western Cairo district of Dokki, Asmaa Refaat, a voter in her forties, stated she “would not know the opposite candidates”.
“I solely know President Sisi,” she stated, calling on the winner “to alter our lives for the higher and ease inflation”.
Annual inflation is at 38.5 p.c, with meals worth rises alone hitting 45.2 p.c, official figures confirmed on Sunday.
Voter Fathi Ali, 79, stated he “solely asks that the subsequent president ensures full medical health insurance”.
Regardless of Egypt’s afflictions, a decade-long crackdown on dissent has eradicated any severe opposition to Sisi.
Underneath his rule, Egypt has jailed 1000’s of political prisoners.
Egyptians, in the meantime, have paid little consideration to election campaigning that has taken place within the shadow of the warfare between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
That battle has monopolised media and public consideration throughout the Arab world. Discuss exhibits in Egypt — carefully tied to the intelligence companies and fervent supporters of Sisi — have sought to hyperlink the 2 points within the incumbent’s favour.
“We can’t sit idly by and watch, we are going to exit and say ‘no to the switch'” of Gazans into Egypt, stated one TV presenter, Ahmed Moussa, echoing a speech by Sisi at first of the warfare in October.
For some voters, Gaza takes priority over different considerations.
“Sure, there’s inflation and issues are laborious, however we want somebody able to dealing with what’s occurring on the border,” a voter in her fifties informed AFP, referring to Egypt’s frontier with Gaza.
“Folks must take part, however let’s be practical: these elections are set for Sisi, as a result of nobody is aware of the opposite candidates,” she stated, requesting anonymity for concern of reprisal.
The three different candidates are all relative unknowns among the many public: Farid Zahran, chief of the left-leaning Egyptian Social Democratic Social gathering; Abdel-Sanad Yamama, from the Wafd, a century-old however comparatively marginal social gathering; and Hazem Omar, from the Republican Folks’s Social gathering.
Two extra distinguished opposition figures had tried to run however have been rapidly sidelined by the federal government. As we speak, one is in jail and the opposite is awaiting trial.
Journalist and activist Khaled Dawoud stated “we aren’t kidding ourselves, the vote shall be… neither credible nor honest”.
However he added on Fb that he would vote for Zahran with a purpose to “ship a transparent message to the regime” that “we would like change”.
Sisi, a retired area marshall within the Egyptian military, got here to energy in 2013 after main the overthrow of elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
In each the 2014 and 2018 elections, he gained with over 96 p.c of the vote, based on official outcomes.
He later prolonged the presidential mandate from 4 to 6 years and amended the structure to lift the restrict on consecutive phrases in workplace from two to a few.
Sisi will not be with out supporters, lots of whom credit score him with engineering a return to calm after the chaos that adopted the 2011 rebellion that overthrew Hosni Mubarak.
Since 2014, the president has promised to revive stability, together with for the financial system.
From 2016 onwards, he has undertaken a bunch of financial reforms which have slashed the variety of civil servants and devalued the foreign money.
These insurance policies, coupled with costly mega tasks together with a multibillion-dollar new capital, have led to surging costs, fuelled public discontent and undermined Sisi’s help each at house and overseas.