Egyptians head to polls in election overshadowed by Gaza war

As the nation struggles with an economic crisis and a conflict on its border with Gaza, Egyptians started casting ballots for the presidential election on Sunday, which is expected to give Abdel Fattah al-Sisi a third term in office.

Tamed near-record inflation, managing a chronic foreign currency shortage, and averting spillover from the conflict between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers would be Sisi’s top objectives if he were to win a second six-year term.

Results are expected on December 18. Voting takes place over three days from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (0700-1900 GMT).

Sunday morning polling places opened in Cairo, where images of Sisi had become widely circulated in the weeks preceding the election, to the sound of patriotic music on repeat. At the entrances to Tahrir Square in the heart of the capital, riot police were stationed.

After ten years of repression against opposition, some saw the election as a farce. It has been referred to as a move towards political plurality by the government’s media body.

None of the three candidates that were eligible to run against Sisi in the election were well-known individuals. The most well-known possible rival withdrew from the race in October, claiming that his followers had been singled out by authorities and thugs. The national electoral administration rejected these claims.

In his capacity as army chief, Sisi oversaw the 2013 overthrow of Mohamed Mursi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s first democratically elected president of Egypt, and went on to win the presidency with 97% of the vote the following year. In 2018, he won with an identical margin of victory.

Sisi has presided over a purge that has included Islamists and liberal and leftist activists. Many thousands, according to rights groups, have been imprisoned.

According to Sisi and his supporters, the crackdown was necessary to stabilise Egypt and combat extremist Islamism. He has positioned himself as a pillar of calm amid the violence that has erupted in Libya, Sudan, and Gaza this year, all close to Egypt.

(With agency inputs)