President el-Sisi declared victorious in Egypt election
Al JazeeraDec 31, 2023
Egypt's el-Sissi Wins Third Presidential Term
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Image copyright: Sean Gallup/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Egypt's National Elections Authority announced on Monday that Pres. Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has overwhelmingly secured a third — and constitutionally final — term in office with 89.6% of the vote in the Dec. 10-12 presidential election.
This outcome was expected as el-Sissi faced no serious challengers after the most credible opposition figure, the young presidential hopeful Ahmed Altantawy, failed to reach the endorsement threshold for candidacy. Yet, voter turnout reached a record high of 66.8%.
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
Despite the ongoing economic crisis, Egyptians flocked to polls as they had never done before with the clear intent to express their opposition to the catastrophic war in Gaza and their support to Pres. el-Sissi — a stabilizing force in the region. The nation has delivered him such a resounding victory as it appreciates his leadership.
Pro-establishment narrative
Egyptian authorities have orchestrated an essentially sham election to let el-Sissi claim a broad mandate to advance some unpopular policies to deal with challenges that include the war in Gaza and the economic crisis — even harassing supporters of his main challenger to drop him out of the race. However, if he continues to fail to solve the problems, it's very likely that his mandate will not last.
