Egypt elections extended due to low turnout

The Egyptian authorities Tuesday decided to extend the presidential elections in a third day to compensate for the low turnout on Monday and Tuesday. Officials said the action was taken “to allow more people to participate.” The lack of interest in the elections to harm the quarterback Abdelfatá Sisi that seeks legitimacy as the new strong man of the regime that ousted  President Mohamed Morsi less than a year ago. Both Al Sisi as his rival, Hamdin Sabbahi, yesterday expressed his opposition to the electoral extension.

Muslim Brotherhood Morsi outlawed, imprisoned hundreds since the military coup, called for abstention in this election. Other opposition groups criminalized by the current interim government stayed away from polling stations, where one can only choose between Al Sisi, who two months ago left the marshal’s baton to enter politics, and the leftist candidate Sabbahi. Reports suggested that turnout was not more than 15% after first day of voting.

The regime had already tried to compensate for the massive abstention declaring the festive day on Tuesday to attract more voters. Yesterday a spokesman for the Electoral Commission, Tarek Shebl warned of possible fines to not go to vote without any justification of absence.

 Al Sisi benefits from the popularity of a blow, as his supporters insist, finished with the plans of political Islamization of Egypt by Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood. Morsi won democratic elections a year after mass protests in 2011 ended three decades under governments of Hosni Mubarak. After deposing Morsi amid massive public protests against his government in 2013, Al Sisi now embodies the hopes of his supporters hyperbolic, yes flocked to the polls.

Among those who voted, as the jeweler Ahmed Osman, under the excessive cement blocks Nasser City or employer Hussein Ali, in the affluent Heliopolis, Queen consensus on the redeeming qualities of the ” hero of July”, the ” military leader “the” strong man “.

But after a string of each eulogy requirements hides: quarterback, believe, “solve the problems of Egypt,” on which there is consensus: security, terrorism, unemployment, energy and lack of foreign investment. The military coup must now demonstrate an ability to very different management of the barracks. Tha ‘s where, as highlighted by political analyst Hisham Kassem, ” the generals want to return.” Do not create the famous Egyptian journalist autocratic ” and a return to possible military rule.” A Al Sisi, whose 2013 ruling does not consider ” a coup, but an intervention ” military, Kassem gives ” one and a half to do something ” before people take to the streets again, as happened to autocrat Mubarak and Morsi.

The generals have “considerable power” but “they know better than anyone how difficult it is to rule Egypt.” Although it seems obvious that has not been subject to civil power, Kassem estimated that the Army ” for decades ” prefers ” to preserve their privileges back to scalding ” in the political arena. So when I hung up the uniform quarterback two months ago, Al Sisi “fell into limbo.”

The possibility of violent protests depend on Al Sisi since qualified. The Muslim Brotherhood will be backed by any shareholding that does not reach the 52% of Morsi won elections in 2012. In his large office at the Ministry of Justice spokesman Abd Alazim Alshri, yesterday blamed the organization of “all disorders terrorists ” last year. Ensures that over a thousand death row Islamist group “have the opportunity to appeal the penalties.” Think many of them will escape execution. Another 20,000 members of the brotherhood still behind bars.

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Posted by Maleeha Tareen on May 29 2014. Filed under Middle East. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.