Al-Sissi elected Egypt's president with nearly 97 per cent of vote

By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa

03.06.2014 story picked up here and here

Cairo (dpa) – Former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sissi was officially declared Egypt's new president on Tuesday after the electoral commission confirmed that he secured almost 97 per cent of the vote in last week's elections.

Al-Sissi thanked Egyptians in his first address as the country's new leader and urged them to focus on rebuilding the country.

"I would like to thank those who lined up in front of polling stations to write the future of Egypt," he said in a speech aired on state television. "Now it is time to work, to take Egypt to a better tomorrow and bring back stability."

Celebrations ensued in central Cairo's Tahrir Square, where thousands of supporters gathered chanting “Sissi, Sissi” as they waved pictures of the former defence minister and the national flag.

The square, the heart of the 2011 uprising that forced longtime leader Hosny Mubarak out of power, had been closed since the morning for the planned celebrations.

Others gathered in several areas in Cairo to celebrate the new president with fireworks.

More than 23.7 million voters cast their ballots in favour of al-Sissi, which equates to about 96.9 per cent of the vote, the electoral commission said.

His rival, leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahy, received 3 per cent of the vote.

Turnout reached 47.45 per cent of Egypt's 54 million registered voters, the commission said. There were some doubts over the accuracy of the figure due to the slow voting process observed during the three-day election.

The commission said it took several measures to ease the voting process, including increasing the number of polling stations, "which explains questions about the intensity of voters in front of the polls."

But the turnout dampens al-Sissi's sweeping victory and adds the challenge of preserving his popularity while working on recovering the Egyptian economy weakened by unrest over the past three years.

In 2012, some 52 per cent of voters took part in the presidential elections won by Islamist Mohammed Morsi, who was deposed by al-Sissi last year in the wake of mass protests demanding his ouster.

The presidential election is the latest stage on the "roadmap" to democracy set out by authorities after Morsi was deposed. Parliamentary elections are also due to begin by mid-July.

Al-Sissi would only start performing his functions once he takes the oath of office. No date has yet been set for that ceremony.

The former defence minister's popularity soared after the ouster of Morsi, as his supporters see him as able to end the turmoil that has hit Egypt over the last three years.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah was the first to congratulate al-Sissi and pledged to hold a donor conference for Egypt, the official SPA news agency reports.

Abdullah said the donor conference would be held in an attempt "to help [the country] overcome its economic crisis," a statement carried by the agency says.

Since Morsi's toppling, oil-rich Gulf countries have committed some 20 billion dollars to Egypt, and many expect this support to continue.

Kuwait and Bahrain's leaders also were swift to congratulate al-Sissi, while the president of the United Arab Emirates said in a statement that his country would "continue to support Egypt and stand by its side under all circumstances."

Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood boycotted the elections and condemned it as illegitimate.

Egyptian authorities accused the brotherhood of responsibility for the increasing violence, which mostly targeted security forces, and delared it a terrorist group.

A security crackdown on Islamist supporters left hundreds killed and thousands detained, including Morsi, since July.

A number of youth groups active in the 2011 revolution against Mubarak also called for a boycott as they expressed fears of lack of freedom of expression under the new president.