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Sisi set to take presidency as Egyptians back stability

26 May 2014 19:50 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Egyptians voted on Monday in an election expected to anoint Abdel Fatah al-Sisi as president, with supporters hoping another military strongman can end three years of turmoil despite fears for democracy in the Arab world's most populous nation, APA reports quoting Associated Press.

After the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in 2011 raised hopes of new freedoms, the vote means Egypt will likely revert to rule by men from the military after Sisi toppled the country's first freely elected leader, Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Former army chief Sisi faces only one challenger in the two-day vote: the leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi. Other candidates who contested the 2012 election won by Mursi did not run, saying the climate was not conducive to democracy.

Early into the election, it was hard to find anyone who planned to vote for Sabahi in lines of voters where young Egyptians - the generation that drove the "Arab Spring" uprising - were conspicuous by their absence.

"We see Sisi as a real man. Egypt likes a strong man," said 64-year-old Saber Habib, clenching his fist to make his point as he waited to vote in the city of Suez, east of Cairo.

"We want the country to move forward and for the people to have bread," said Habib, a contractor.

Despite calls for a big turnout by Sisi and state and privately run media loyal to the army, the turnout appeared lower than in previous elections. With Sisi seemingly assured victory, he needs a good turnout to shore up his legitimacy.

Lines at 20 Cairo polling stations visited by Reuters consistently over the past three years appeared shorter than in previous elections. The interior minister said turnout was good. As polls were about to close, there was no sign of a late rush.

Widely regarded as Egypt's de facto leader since he toppled Mursi after mass protests, Sisi, 59, faces manifold challenges including an economy in crisis and a campaign of Islamist violence that has spiraled since he overthrew Mursi.

To the Islamists, he is the author of a coup followed by a bloody crackdown that killed hundreds of Mursi supporters and landed thousands more in jail. Secular dissidents who led the January 25 uprising against Mubarak have also been imprisoned.

Human Rights Watch estimates the number of political dissidents and Islamists in detention at more than 20,000.

At the same time, several hundred members of the security forces have been killed in a campaign of violence by radical Islamists since last July. The last year has been the bloodiest period of internal strife in Egypt's modern history.