CAIRO – Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi secured a staggering 92 percent of the total 25 million votes counted so far, paving way for a second term to rule some 95.69 million population.
According to state-run daily newspaper al-Ahram, as many as 21.4 million cast vote in favour of the 63-year-old who had secured 96.9 percent of the vote in the presidential election back in 2014.
“In addition to 23 million who cast valid votes, two million spoiled their ballot papers,” reported the paper.
The three-day presidential election, which concluded on Wednesday, had al-Sisi pitched against just one rival, Moussa Mostafa Moussa, who managed to get merely 721,000 votes.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/world/egypts-mursi-sentenced-to-20-years-for-protestors-killings/
Interestingly, Moussa, himself is a supporter of Sisi and had registered immediately before the close date for applications, in a bid to save the election from being a one-horse race.
Moreover, Moussa conceded his loss on Wednesday night, disclosing on television station that he had hoped for 10 percent of the vote.
“But I know the immense popularity of President Sisi,” he claimed.
It is noteworthy that a total 60 million voters are registered in the country that saw a wave of revolution in 2011, in the form of Arab Spring, however, in the recent election, some 41.5 percent exercised their right to franchise.
Political observers say the vote appears reminiscent of the kind of elections that bolstered the position of autocrats in power before the Arab Spring.
