Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s incumbent President, secured a landslide victory, claiming 89.6% of the votes in the recent election, as declared by the election authority on Monday. The voter turnout reached an unprecedented 66.8%, according to Hazem Badawy, the head of the authority.
A staggering 39 million ballots were cast in favor of Sisi, a former army chief who has governed the most populous Arab nation for the past decade.
The election featured Sisi against three lesser-known contenders, with Hazem Omar, leader of the Republican People’s Party, securing the runner-up position with 4.5% of the vote.
Following Omar were Farid Zahran, head of the left-leaning Egyptian Social Democratic Party, and Abdel-Sanad Yamama from the Wafd party, which holds a historical but relatively limited influence.
This victory secures Sisi’s position for a third term, also marking the final term permissible under the country’s constitution. His term will commence in April.
Sisi’s triumph was expected despite Egypt grappling with its most severe economic crisis and heightened tensions due to the Israel-Hamas conflict in neighboring Gaza. The nation’s currency took a significant hit, leading to an annual inflation rate of 36.4%, causing rapid increases in the prices of essential food items, thus straining household budgets.
Even before this economic downturn, approximately two-thirds of Egypt’s nearly 106 million populace were living at or below the poverty line.