President al-Sisi who has just been re-elected for his second term. Photo Credit AFP
Egypt’s al-Sisi has been re-elected amid low voters turnout
As expected, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been re-elected for a second term with 92 percent of the vote, state media reported on Thursday citing preliminary results.
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But the voter-turnout for the election, about one-third of registered voters, was poor; that too was expected. Millions of the voters spoilt their votes in palpable protest of lack of their best choices.
It is expected that the electoral commission may make good its threat to fine legible voters who refused to take part in the election
Some 23 million of the 60 million registered voters turned out during the three days of polling that ended Wednesday, state-owned newspapers Al-Ahram and Akhbar el-Youm, and the official MENA news agency reported.
According to Al-Ahram, in addition to the 23 million who cast valid votes, two million spoiled their ballot papers, inserting the names of candidates who were not among the only two approved.
Sisi’s sole challenger was the little-known Moussa Mostafa Moussa, himself a supporter of the president, who registered immediately before the close date for applications, saving the election from being a one-horse race.
Other, more heavy-weight would-be challengers were all sidelined, detained or pulled out.
Sisi, who ousted Egypt’s first freely elected president — Islamist Mohamed Morsi — after mass street protests in 2013, won his first term in 2014 with 96.9 percent of the vote.
Turnout of 47 percent in that year’s election was sharply higher than this year’s 40 percent despite appeals from Sisi for voters to fulfil their patriotic duty.
Boycotters who cannot show good reason for not going to the polls could a face a fine of up to 500 Egyptian pounds (22 euros), the electoral commission has warned.