Talking about the presidential elections in Egypt seems to be a hard task. Egyptians are very sensitive to foreign analysis about their internal affairs. Egypt has a strong influence in the region. Arab and Gulf countries must give their perception about this historic event.
The focus is not aimed at intervening in the internal affairs of Egypt but rather an analysis of the aspects and effects of these elections.
Egyptians abroad had voted, as debates have been intensifying over the elections. The events in Egypt resemble those of Russia. Like Putin, al-Sisi was able to manage internal and external developments that encountered his country, including the elections.
Putin was re-elected for a fourth term. Since he took rule, the Russian president has achieved political legitimacy through gains he brought to his country. Polls always reflect the will of the people. Putin won the Russian elections by a big margin. His efforts to make Russia grow once again have been the main reason behind his re-election.
Although Putin ran against other candidates, some compared the election to a referendum. The same happened with Sisi. Putin’s rivals should have allocated efforts to convince voters so they would get better results. But they questioned the popular elections’ turnout.
The opposition claimed that the Kremlin overplayed the participation rates. There was either a fraud in the ballot or a large number of voters were brought to polling stations, the opposition said. Both facts have no credibility.
The Russian opposition aim was to derail the electoral process by calling on voters to boycott elections. Practices of this kind harm the political process in general.
That Putin will win the elections was in no doubt. The opposition claimed he had blocked his rivals. The Russian president has an overwhelming popularity that makes it hard to compete with him. He is a national leader that saved Russia from an economic and political turmoil after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Describing the elections in Egypt as a referendum is a kind of irony. The Egyptian presidential elections are held according to the constitution. Observers assume that al-Sisi is effectively guaranteed to win, given his achievement both internally and externally.
The billboards abroad indicate that the majority of Egyptians will surely vote for al-Sisi. Egyptians overseas have more freedom to choose without being subject to internal pressure.
Egypt faces several regional and international challenges. A popular support is capable of overthrowing allegations aimed at abusing the credibility of the elections.
The opposition now questions the credibility of voting queues, queues they used to boast during former elections. What has changed so that the opposition changes its vision? It is a shift of interests. The opposition is not concerned about the good of Egypt. Al-Sisi rivals seek any loophole to block Egypt’s development.
There is a media campaign that seeks to defame al-Sisi’s reputation, depicting him as Egypt’s enemy. Obviously, it is only a terrorist group who leads this hostile media campaign, backed up by Qatar and Turkey. The pro-president media should have focused on his achievements to prove effective.
