© Reuters. Folks wait in line outdoors a polling station to vote in the course of the first day of the presidential election in Cairo, Egypt, December 10, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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By Farah Saafan
CAIRO (Reuters) -Egyptians headed to the polls on Sunday for a presidential election through which Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is poised to win a 3rd time period in energy because the nation grapples with an financial disaster and a conflict on its border with Gaza.
Victory would hand Sisi a six-year time period through which speedy priorities can be taming near-record inflation, managing a continual international forex scarcity and stopping spillover from the battle between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers.
Voting, which runs from 9 a.m. till 9 p.m. (0700-1900 GMT), is unfold over three days, with outcomes resulting from be introduced on Dec. 18.
As voting started on Sunday morning, small crowds gathered at polling stations in Cairo, the place photos of Sisi have proliferated within the weeks main as much as the election. Riot police have been deployed at entrances to Tahrir Sq. within the centre of the capital.
Critics see the election as a sham after a decade-long crackdown on dissent. The federal government’s media physique has referred to as it a step in direction of political pluralism.
Three candidates certified to face in opposition to Sisi within the election, none of them high-profile figures. Essentially the most distinguished potential challenger halted his run in October, saying officers and thugs had focused his supporters – accusations dismissed by the nationwide election authority.
Authorities and commentators on tightly managed native media have been urging Egyptians to end up to vote, although some individuals stated they have been unaware when the election was going down within the days earlier than the ballot. Others stated voting would make little distinction.
“I was aware there are elections happening, but I had no idea when. I only knew that because of the massive Sisi campaigns around the streets,” stated Aya Mohamed, a 35-year-old advertising and marketing government.
“I feel indifferent about the elections because there will be no real change,” she stated.
As military chief, Sisi led the 2013 ousting of Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, earlier than being elected to the presidency the next yr with 97% of the vote.
Since then he has overseen a crackdown that has swept up liberal and leftist activists in addition to Islamists. Rights teams say tens of 1000’s have been jailed.
Sisi and his backers say the crackdown was wanted to stabilise Egypt and counter Islamist extremism. He has introduced himself as a bulwark of stability as battle has erupted on Egypt’s borders in Libya, and earlier this yr in Sudan and Gaza.
Sisi was re-elected in 2018, once more with 97% of the vote.
SOARING PRICES
Financial pressures, nevertheless, have turn out to be the dominant subject for Egypt’s fast-growing inhabitants of 104 million, with some individuals complaining that the federal government has prioritised expensive mega-projects whereas the state takes on extra debt and residents wrestle to deal with hovering costs.
“Enough of projects and infrastructure, we want the prices to go down, we want for the impoverished to eat and people to have a living,” stated Imad Atef, a vegetable vendor in Cairo.
The election marketing campaign has been low-key, with Sisi following a typical programme of opening an arms commerce truthful, inspecting roads and sitting in on examinations for candidates to hitch army and police academies within the week main as much as the vote.
Some analysts say the election, initially anticipated in early 2024, was introduced ahead so financial modifications – together with a devaluation of an already weakened forex – could possibly be applied after the vote.
The Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF) on Thursday stated it was in talks with Egypt to agree further financing underneath an current, $3 billion mortgage programme that had stalled due to delays to gross sales of state belongings and a promised shift in direction of a extra versatile change fee.
“All indicators suggest that we’re going to move quite quickly after the election in terms of proceeding with the IMF reform,” stated Hany Genena, chief economist at Cairo Monetary Holding, an funding financial institution.
