Egypt's Sisi wins 2nd term with landslide victory

Egyptian incumbent President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi made a landslide victory in the country's presidential election, winning 97.08 percent of the valid votes, official results showed on Monday.

The turnout was 41.05 percent, as 24,254,152 voters inside and outside Egypt cast their ballots, head of Egypt's National Elections Authority, Lashin Ibrahim, told a press conference in Cairo.

A total of 21,835,387 voted for Sisi at home and abroad, while Sisi's only rival Moussa Mostafa Moussa garnered 656,534 votes, or 2.92 percent.

A couple of possible strong competitors in the presidential race have either withdrawn or been disqualified over violations.

Moussa said he is satisfied with the results, applauding the transparency of the electoral process.

He also said he would have won if he was competing against another candidate, reported official Ahram Gate website.

The number of invalid votes was 1,762,231, added Ibrahim.

Right after the official announcement of the results, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia congratulated Sisi by phone.

King Salman wished Egypt and its people prosperity, stressing the kingdom's keenness to strengthen historical ties with Egypt, spokesman for Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

Sisi also received congratulatory messages from a number of heads of state, including of China, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Czech and Armenia.

On March 19, the most populous Arab state wrapped up the three-day voting process of Egyptian expatriates in about 124 countries across the world. The domestic voting took place on March 26-28.

Polls were held amid intense security presence and tight security measures around polling centers throughout Egypt.

Voters cast their ballots at some 13,706 polling stations nationwide, with about 18,808 judges oversaw the voting process that was also monitored by at least 53 local organizations and nine international ones, besides more than 680 foreign reporters.

Sisi came to office in mid-2014, a year after he, as the army chief then, led the military ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in response to mass protests against his one-year rule and his now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.

Sisi was expected to win a landslide victory in the polls, yet the Egyptian leadership sought a high voter turnout as a sign of popular support for Sisi's administration.

Most Egyptians who voted for Sisi expressed their belief in him as a savior from Islamist radicalism of the currently blacklisted Brotherhood group and trust in Sisi's leadership of the country for eradication of terrorism, further security, stability and development.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)