Egypt elections: Polls open as Sisi faces little contest
Egyptians began casting their ballots on Monday in a presidential election that will run over three days and is likely to keep President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in power. Sisi is running against just one other candidate, Mousa Mostafa Mousa, after several others quit the race. The opposition blames Sisi’s government for squeezing potential rivals through what they see as a strategy of intimidation or coercion, but the President says he is not to blame.
Detractors have accused Mousa of being a stooge candidate, sanctioned by the regime to give the election a veneer of legitimacy.
Mousa says he was a Sisi supporter before running, but says his campaign is genuine
President Sisi cast his vote at a polling station in Cairo early Monday, one of 13,000 polling stations across the country.
One Sisi supporter, doctor Amr Kabil, told CNN: “I have hope about the future. We need to let the President finish his economic reforms.”
At another polling station in central Cairo, nationalistic songs were blasting well before polls opened at 9 a.m.
Around a dozen young people wearing white T-shirts that read “Egypt First. Get Out and Vote” danced in the street while voters lined up inside the school to cast their ballots.
Against the noisy background of street celebrations, Egyptian MP Dalia Youssef said she was happy Sisi would likely remain in office.
“Egyptians understand that the seven years we’ve gone through (since the 2011 Arab Spring) were harsh, that we had to go through economic reform, and that we’re on our way forward and we still have a long way to go,” said the lawmaker, who represents the Future of a Nation party.
When asked about presidential candidates who had exited the race, Youssef expressed frustration with the focus on veteran political voices in Egypt.
“Those names were there before, and it’s time to move on,” she said. “I think we need new names out there, we need new candidates.”
Source: CNN
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