Presidential Elections in Egypt Have Begun

Voting for the presidential elections in Egypt began on Monday morning, April 6, and will last for three days. The elections are being held under heavy security measures, and the Islamic State group, Egypt branch, has threatened to attack polling stations. It is expected that the result of this election will lead to the re-election of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the current President of Egypt. His only competitor this time is Moussa Mustafa Moussa, who had previously campaigned in favor of Sisi but registered on the last day of candidate registration, thus the election has moved away from being a one-candidate race. Significant rivals of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi had previously announced their withdrawal for various reasons. Among them, two former military figures in Egypt had announced their intention to compete with Sisi last year. However, Sami Anan, the former Chief of Staff of the Army, was detained in January, and Ahmed Shafik, the former Air Force commander and Prime Minister, also withdrew from the race. In the previous election held in 2014, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi competed against a more recognized rival, Hamdeen Sabahi, a leftist politician. However, the turnout in that election reached 37% in the first two days, forcing the Egyptian election authority to extend voting for a third day. Ultimately, the turnout reached 47.5%. According to Agence France-Presse, the turnout in this election is expected to be lower than in the previous one. In this election, if none of the candidates achieve a majority of votes, a second round will be held in early May. However, news agencies predict that Sisi will be declared the winner in the first round, referencing his previous victory where he secured 96.9% of the votes. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who was the commander of the Egyptian army during Mohamed Morsi's presidency, led the military to oust Morsi in the summer of 2014. At that time, Morsi, who came to power through democratic elections with a majority vote in 2013, two years after the ousting of Hosni Mubarak's thirty-year regime, faced weeks of widespread protests.