(Cairo) For the second consecutive day on Monday, 67 million Egyptians are called upon to choose their future president, a vote won by the outgoing Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, in power since he overthrew the Islamist Mohamed Morsi in 2013 .
“I have come to vote for the president in the difficult circumstances that our country is going through,” assures Nadia Chahine, 67, met by AFPTV in front of a polling station in a wealthy neighborhood of Cairo.
This election, the third – and last according to the Constitution – which Mr. Sissi, 69, should win, comes as the war has raged since October between Israel and Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt and as the The most populous Arab country is caught in the worst economic crisis in its history.
PHOTO EGYPTIAN PRESIDENCY VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Outgoing President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi voted in Cairo on December 10.
“We need a strong president,” pleads Mme Chahine, while the supporters of Mr. Sissi, a former marshal, continue to repeat that only a soldier can act in the face of the “threat” of a possible “transfer” of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who have been bombarded relentlessly for years. weeks by Israel after an unprecedented deadly attack by Hamas on its soil.
“Our biggest problem currently is Gaza and the transfer of population,” insists Mme Chahine, while Cairo, like other Arab capitals, warned against a forced displacement of the population of Gaza towards Egyptian territory, accusing Israel of considering such a project.
Hammoud Ahmed, for his part, wants a president who “controls the market and prices, punishes speculators and takes care of people who are no longer getting by” in a country where inflation is nearly 40%, where currency has lost 50% of its value and debt has tripled.
Besides Mr. Sissi, three candidates generally unknown to the general public are in the running: Farid Zahran, from a small left-wing party, Abdel-Sanad Yamama, from the Wafd, a century-old but now marginal party, and Hazem Omar, from the Republican People’s Party.
Despite Egypt’s difficulties, no serious opposition seems to exist under the reign of Mr. Sissi, the fifth president from the ranks of the army since 1952, who rules the country with an iron fist.
In the presidential elections of 2014 and 2018, Mr. Sissi won with more than 96% of the votes.
Two opposition figures tried to present themselves for a time but were quickly dismissed. Today, one of them is in prison and the other awaiting trial.