Egypt elections: El-Sisi wins second term with 97% votes

Bloomberg

Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi cruised to a second term as Egypt’s president, scooping up more than 97 percent of valid votes in the election.
Out of some 60 million registered voters, nearly 25 million, or 41 percent, went to the polls, according to the final results announced by the National Election Authority on Monday. Sisi secured roughly the same proportion of votes as he did in the 2014 elections. After El-Sisi’s re-election result was announced, state TV showed patriotic music videos and images of people celebrating in the street.

El-Sisi’s Egypt
Under El-Sisi’s stewardship, Egypt launched economic reforms that were lauded by the International Monetary Fund.
Officials have recently managed to bring down inflation that had hovered above 30 percent for much of last year. El-Sisi has sought to quell attacks by militants based in the Sinai peninsula, including a local IS affiliate.
Election turnout was widely seen as the true test of El-Sisi’s popularity and a concerted effort was made to encourage people participation in the three-day vote.
Youths wearing T-shirts with nationalist slogans or pictures of El-Sisi milled outside many polling stations, some breaking into da-nce. “Great people of Egypt: the heavy voter turnout only indicates your love for your country,” Lasheen Ibrahim, head of the National Election Authority, said as he presented the results in a news conference. “What distinguished your turnout was that it wasn’t driven by promises or threats, but by your love for the homeland.” Asked in one video prepared for state television, how he wanted to be remembered, El-Sisi replied: “I don’t want anyone to remember me other than I was a human who tried — someone who tried to protect his family in difficult circumstances.”

UAE leaders congratulate El-Sisi on re-election
Abu Dhabi / WAM

UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent a congratulatory message to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt, on the occasion of his re-election. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, also sent similar messages to President El-Sisi on the occasion. HH Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and HH Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ajman, also congratulated El-Sisi.