General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former Egyptian army chief who deposed the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Mursi, has officially won the country’s presidential election with a margin of victory as large as the Great Pyramid.
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the general who toppled Egypt’s first freely elected leader, took more than 90 per cent of the vote in a presidential election, provisional results showed on Thursday, joining a long line of leaders drawn from the military….Sisi won 93.3 percent of votes cast, judicial sources said, with most ballots counted after three days of voting. His only rival, leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, gained 3 percent while 3.7 percent of votes were declared void.
I find it interesting that many of the elite media outlets are harping on the “lack of opposition” and the election’s “low voter turnout” to color the news about Sisi’s win.
The landslide victory was tainted by few signs of a credible opposition and low voter turnout. Authorities declared Tuesday a holiday and pushed voting to a third day Wednesday.According to current President Adly Mansour, nationwide turnout was about 46% — below the nearly 52% turnout in the election won by Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi in June 2012. Sabahi says the turnout figures lack credibility.The low turnout could weaken al-Sisi’s authority to make tough and important economic changes such as cutting energy subsidies that eat a big chunk of the country’s budget, says Anna Boyd, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at IHS in London.
It turns out the number was closer to 48%, which is heartening given the level of turmoil and Islamic extremist threats the Egyptians have been exposed to since Arab Spring sprung in 2011. In comparison, the relatively serene 2012 American presidential election had a 57.5% turnout of eligible voters, and I fail to recall any of the elite media saying that it “weakened Obama’s authority.”
Here’s another statistic I would like to share: Sisi has a higher “favorable” rating among Egyptians than Obama does among Americans.
[from CNSNews]
And, unlike Obama, it appears that Sisi is willing to do the hard work. And Sisi will have much work ahead of him, as he focuses on improving Egypt’s dire economic conditions. However, it looks like the country’s business community believes his election is a step in the right direction.
Mohamed El Sewedy, chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Industries, said, however: “The business community is very happy about the results. We need real reform and opportunities … a guy with courage to take decisions.”Sisi is seen by supporters as a strong figure who can end the turmoil that has convulsed Egypt for three years since the revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak after 30 years in power….Sisi enjoys the backing of the armed forces and the Interior Ministry, as well as businessmen who thrived under Mubarak and are still highly influential.Sisi also has the support of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, which see Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood as an existential threat. Gulf Arab states pumped billions of dollars into Egypt to keep the economy afloat.
The High Presidential Elections Commission (HPEC) will formally announce the results June 4th. Meanwhile, Egypt’s acting president is giving the terror organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, a very interesting parting gift:
Egypt’s interim President Adly Mansour issued a presidential decree on Thursday cancelling Mohamed Morsi’s presidential decree to pardon over 50 Islamists imprisoned on terrorism-related charges.Morsi – ousted by the army in July of last year amid mass protests against his rule – issued six presidential decrees while in office from 2012-2013 that pardoned 52 Islamists, including nine leading members of the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and 18 jihadists convicted for a 1995 assassination attempt on then-president Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa.
A MHz Wordview Video summarizes Egypt’s election news.
Here’s to hoping Sisi can enhance the lives of his countrymen and the stability of the region while pushing back on Muslim terror groups. That would be a legacy as enduring as the Sphinx.
(Featured Image: From – MHz Wordview Video)
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