This December 10, more than 67 million Egyptians are called to take to the streets to cast their vote in the country's early elections, as they had initially been planned for next year. The three-day election day has as its main protagonist the current Egyptian president, Abdelfatah al-Sisi, who has been in power for more than 10 years and who, if he triumphs again, would remain president until 2030.
Election day in a key country in the Middle East. In the midst of the regional instability caused by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has generated a humanitarian crisis on the Egyptian border with the Palestinian enclave, Cairo will elect a new president, although al-Sisi, who took the presidential baton in 2013, has all the chances of retaining his position as head of the Egyptian state.
The opponents of the ruling party are Farid Zahran, of the Social Democratic Party; Hazem Omar, of the Republican People's Party and Abdel-Sanad Yamama, leader of the Wafd Party. None of the three have enough popular support to stand up to the figure of al-Sisi, who has won the last two elections with a wide margin of more than 90%.
Egyptian television showed images of the president voting at an electoral center in the capital, as soon as the day began at 9:00 local time. The other candidates have also already cast their votes, some wearing the traditional Palestinian scarf, in a show of solidarity with the civilian population in Gaza with whom Egyptian citizens have historically managed to empathize.
The results will be announced on December 18. If no candidate manages to obtain more than 50% of the vote cast, Egypt would head to a presidential second round scheduled for January 8, 9 and 10.
“I feel indifferent to the elections”
Despite the massive media campaign to encourage participation in the elections, after the last two editions failed to exceed 50% attendance, a large part of the citizens do not trust the electoral process in their country, feeling hopeless. that your vote causes some significant change in Egyptian reality.
“I knew there were elections, but I had no idea when (…) I feel indifferent to the elections because there will be no real change,” said Aya Mohammed, 35, who mentioned the intense propaganda campaign that led to carried out by the local media, controlled by the State, to encourage electoral activity among citizens.
Although the calls to vote have been constant, the repression and censorship imposed by the al-Sisi regime are fundamental conditions to understand the discouragement of a large part of Egyptians.
Before the elections, the one who was the only political figure who could have challenged the government of the former Marshal, Ahmed Altantawy, withdrew from the presidential race after not having obtained enough signatures to achieve his candidacy. The young opponent denounces that state security agencies had intimidated and harassed his supporters, forcing them not to sign for his candidacy.
“Some political parties, and the opposition in general, no longer believe in these presidential elections because we have all been asking for guarantees and it has not been the case,” commented Mohamed Anwar el Sadat, former deputy and leader of the Reform and Development Party.
Expectation in the face of the economic and social crisis
One of the main concerns of Egyptian society in the face of these new elections is the serious economic situation that is affecting millions of families in Cairo.
With around 105 million inhabitants, inflation and rising prices in basic supplies have caused at least a third of the country's population to fall into the poverty line. In addition, the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic have hit the Egyptian economy, which has not been able to fully recover.
The al-Sisi administration has tried to mitigate the situation with the establishment of state megaprojects such as the inauguration of the new Suez Canal and the construction of a new administrative capital, although the results have not been as expected.
This year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that it was in negotiations with the Egyptian government to restructure Cairo's debt plan, which totals around $3 billion in loans.
Budgeted to win the elections, Abdelfatah al-Sisi, a soldier who seized power from the country's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, also faces severe criticism for the human rights situation during his mandate and the lack of political openness that allows his ruling coalition.
The president has been criticized for his actions in relation to the political opposition in the country. In 2013, the Muslim Brotherhood, the political group of the ousted Morsi, called numerous demonstrations against al-Sisi's seizure of power, which were violently put down in an event that Human Rights Watch described as a “probable crime against humanity.” .
In addition, multiple non-governmental organizations that defend Human Rights have denounced the presence of “systematic torture” within al-Sisi's state scheme, which also constitutes “a crime against humanity,” according to the report published last 2 October by the UN Committee against Torture.
However, al-Sisi is supported by his important role as a mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, his contributions to the fight against terrorism and his political alliances with both the West and Russia. Attitudes that have gained some popular support and that lead him to achieve his third consecutive term as president of Egypt.
With Reuters, AP and local media
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