Cairo: Egyptians were choosing a new president on Monday in an election that comes nearly a year after the military’s ouster of the nation’s first freely elected president, the Islamist Mohammed Morsy.
The man who removed Mr. Morsy, retired military chief Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, is practically assured of a victory in the vote, which is being held over two days, Monday and Tuesday.
El-Sisi, who has for the past 10 months been the most powerful figure in Egypt, will be looking for a strong turnout to show the world that his removal of Morsy was the will of the people.
The only other candidate in the race is leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, who finished third in the 2012 presidential election.
The balloting is taking place amid tight security, with tens of thousands of troops and police throwing security rings around polling centres across the nation. Egypt has some 53 million registered voters.
By percentage of votes, el-Sisi could win a landslide, but his camp’s attention will be on the turnout. A low turnout would show the narrowness of his support in a country that has risen up against two presidents since 2011.
If Mr. Sabahi manages to thwart a landslide with a respectable showing, it would be a further blow, showing an existing and active opposition to el-Sisi despite the media hype.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group from which Morsy hails, has instructed its followers to boycott the vote. Also boycotting the polls are many of the pro-democracy youths who have participated in the 2011 uprising against long time autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
El-Sisi has pledged to bring democracy to Egypt but Morsy’s backers say the ouster of an elected president crushed those hopes. El-Sisi’s supporters say he saved the country from Islamists while his secular critics fear he will enshrine a Mubarak-style autocracy once more.
Egyptians are desperately looking to have a president who would restore security and revive the economy. Failure to show tangible results could trigger a new wave of unrest that some fear could be even more violent.
“We want security first, then everything else will follow,” said Manal Mohammed, a government employee standing in line outside a polling centre in Imbabah, a middle-class Cairo district.
Across the road, six armoured police cars were deployed outside a police station while the street was sealed off to traffic.
An overview of the candidates:
Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi -
Born in 1954, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi hails from a family of furniture makers. He grew up in the historic neighborhood of Islamic Cairo that is home to al-Azhar, the center of Sunni Muslim learning, and Egypt’s largest crafts market, the Khan Khalili.
El-Sisi’s father later moved them to the city’s new upper-middle class neighbourhood of Nasr City. His son’s military career began as soon as he graduated from an army—run high school. He obtained a bachelor’s degree from Egypt’s War College in 1977 and a Masters’ degree in military sciences from Egypt’s military staff college in 1987. He also completed a Masters’ degree at the military staff college in the UK in 1992, and a fellowship at the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania from 2005 to 2006. While in the U.S., he wrote a paper entitled, “Democracy in the Middle East,” which has been used by some to suggest he supports democracy but also autocracy and political Islam.
After serving as military attache in Saudi Arabia, the end of Hosni Mubarak’s era found el—Sisi heading military intelligence, where he remained following the 2011 uprisings that swept Mubarak from power.
After removing Mr. Morsy on July 3rd in a popularly—backed military takeover, el—Sisi rose to international prominence and dizzying national popularity. Chocolates bearing his picture, posters depicting him next to former strongman—presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anwar Sadat, songs and even poetry idolizing him emerged. As defense minister, he oversaw the violent dispersal of sit—ins in support of Morsy that killed hundreds last August, and a subsequent crackdown on those who opposed the ouster first Brotherhood supporters, then secular dissidents.
After months of assuring the public that he would not run for office, el—Sisi announced his candidacy for president on March 26, after resigning from the military. His campaign released a 17—point plan, which included a greater role for the state in the management of the economy. He also planned to redraw the borders of some of the provinces, build 22 new industrial cities and eight new airports and reform the education system. He previously cited the need to restore security and stability as Egypt’s top priority.
In recent pre-recorded and tightly-controlled televised appearances, he has cast himself as a strong—handed disciplinarian, saying the now—banned Brotherhood will not return on his watch, emphasizing the need for public sacrifices and cautioning the media not to ask for too many freedoms. The balancing of these tough pronouncements with emotional shows of sympathy with the public have led many Egyptians to respond with outpourings of affection for him.
Hamdeen Sabahi -
Four months older than el-Sisi, Hamdeen Sabahi was born in July 1954 in the resort town of Baltim in the Nile Delta province of Kafr el Sheikh.
Mr. Sabahi was a supporter of the leftist Nasserist doctrine since his student days when he studied mass communication at Cairo University. His father, a farmer, benefited from Nasser’s land reform scheme that redistributed land to farmers in the Delta. Sabahi spent his career between journalism and politics and went on to participate and found several political movements.
In the first round of the presidential 2012 race, Mr. Sabahi had a last-minute surge after campaigning on promises to help the poor and bring about “social justice,” one of the key demands of the uprising.
This time around, Mr. Sabahi has sought to court the youth vote and paint himself as the “revolutionary candidate,” again focusing on the poor and the need for social and economic justice. He has also said he would repeal the law that outlaws protests without a permit. On foreign policy, he calls for a disengagement from Washington, including military aid, and a less-close relationship with Israel.
Unlike the front-runner, Mr. Sabahi has been very vocal about his leftist political platform, harkening back to the nationalist, socialist ideology of Gamal Abdel-Nasser who ruled in the 1950s and 1960s. An 81—page document on his website details his campaign program.
While many see his candidacy as little more than a fig leaf to lend legitimacy to the military-backed el-Sisi, Mr. Sabahi’s team appears to be taking the competition seriously and his campaign buses have for the last three weeks zigzagged across the country.
Though Mr. Sabahi seems to agree that el-Sisi is a “people’s hero,” he says that it is time for the military to return to the barracks.
