The former head of the Armed Forces in the lead with over half of the vote compared to his opponent, the left-wing dissident Hamdeen Sabahi . Doubts on voter turnout despite the extra day decided by the Electoral Commission. Less than half of those eligible to vote did. Activist tells AsiaNews: " The fault lies with the anti- democratic climate that reigns, not the candidates”.

Cairo (AsiaNews) - With a share of preferences approaching around 90% , the former head of the armed forces Abdel Fattah al- Sisi is set to become the new president of Egypt. About half of the ballots have been counted, but sources close to the Egyptian Electoral Commission speak of an "unprecedented victory" in the history of Egypt. During the election campaign , Al- Sisi was backed by military officials, entrepreneurs and part of the old Mubarak establishment.

However, some doubts surround voter turnout. The final count, says the source, amounted to 44.4 % of the 54 million eligible to vote. Although Al- Sisi is likely to take the majority, it would still be under 40 million votes indicated as "necessary" for an "overall victory".

On the first day of polling, May 26th , there was a turnout of about 10-15%; the day after the data was even lower. Election officials believe the fault lies with the "residential restrictions" imposed in some parts of the country, while for another the real reason is the "extraordinarily hot climate these days".

The scarce presence of civilians at the voting centers (soldiers however, were out in full force) forced the Election Commission to extend voting by one day. According to several analysts, the "bare minimum" for Al - Sisi is 13 million preferences, which was obtained in 2013 by the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood , Mohamed Morsi, later deposed by the then general. Government officials have approved a fine of 500 Egyptian pounds (around 60 euro) for those who did not vote.

Mina Magdy, a young leader of the Maspero Youth Union (Muslim-Christian Association for Human Rights , one of the main promoters of the Tamarod protests that led to the fall of Mubarak) , told AsiaNews : "The low turnout is due to the anti- democratic climate that currently reigns in Egypt. We all know that democracy is not just about the ballot box, it is something more. "

The reference she continues, "is to what we have experienced in recent months, when Al- Sisi was painted by the media and civil society as 'the savior of Egypt'. This is not correct, you cannot have a real debate if one candidate is painted as a hero and the other is a simple human being with an undefined program. It is typical of this country to kneel down to the strong man".

Moreover this attitude is of no benefit to the ex-chief of the Armed Forces, "Al- Sisi is much loved by the people , you only have to listen to the talk on the streets to realize this. I am sure that, if the context had been a little less biased and more democratic the turnout would have been much higher and he would have got the same large number of votes, a majority. But a change in mentality is needed".

 

• Egypt
• polls closed presidential vote Al- Sisi victory democracy