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Voting Opens in Egyptian Election Lacking Suspense Voting Opens in Egyptian Election Lacking Suspense
(about 2 hours later)
CAIRO — Rasha Hazem has brought her two daughters to 10 national votes in the last three years, letting the girls ink their own fingers each time to practice at democracy.CAIRO — Rasha Hazem has brought her two daughters to 10 national votes in the last three years, letting the girls ink their own fingers each time to practice at democracy.
She cast her ballot for a self-styled liberal Islamist in Egypt’s first free and fair presidential vote. In the runoff, she ruined her ballot rather than choose between two conservatives, one from the military and the other from the Muslim Brotherhood.She cast her ballot for a self-styled liberal Islamist in Egypt’s first free and fair presidential vote. In the runoff, she ruined her ballot rather than choose between two conservatives, one from the military and the other from the Muslim Brotherhood.
But on Monday, she said Egypt may have had too much democracy. She voted for Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the former army field marshal whose main achievement is having led the military’s ouster of the nation’s democratically -elected president, Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, last summer. But on Monday, she said Egypt may have had too much democracy. She voted for Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the former army field marshal whose main achievement is having led the military’s ouster of the nation’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, last summer.
“We need a bit of dictatorship,” said Ms. Hazem, a 43-year-old pharmacist, while voting in the middle-class neighborhood of Dokki. “Too much spoiling created a little bit of wildness in the people and it isn’t good,” she added, arguing that young Egyptians should stop “spending all their time protesting and creating all this noise.”“We need a bit of dictatorship,” said Ms. Hazem, a 43-year-old pharmacist, while voting in the middle-class neighborhood of Dokki. “Too much spoiling created a little bit of wildness in the people and it isn’t good,” she added, arguing that young Egyptians should stop “spending all their time protesting and creating all this noise.”
“So we picked one from the military this time,” her daughter, Salma Mahmoud, 13, interjected. “To try something new.”“So we picked one from the military this time,” her daughter, Salma Mahmoud, 13, interjected. “To try something new.”
Millions of Egyptians expressed a similar impatience with Egypt’s three and a half year democratic detour on Monday, as they went to the polls in an election universally expected to crown Mr. Sisi as Egypt’s next president. Millions of Egyptians expressed a similar impatience with Egypt’s three-and-a-half-year democratic detour on Monday, as they went to the polls in an election universally expected to crown Mr. Sisi as Egypt’s next president.
His supporters have urged voters to turn out in order to add retrospective legitimacy to Mr. Morsi’s ouster. And in interviews at polling stations around Cairo, many voters said they hoped or expected Mr. Sisi would stay in power long after the eight-year limit set by the Constitution drafted under the new military-backed government. His supporters have urged voters to turn out in order to give retrospective legitimacy to Mr. Morsi’s ouster. And in interviews at polling stations around Cairo, many voters said they hoped or expected Mr. Sisi would stay in power long after the eight-year limit set by the Constitution drafted under the new military-backed government.
“Egypt now needs a harsh leader, a leader disciplined enough to make Egypt walk on dough without messing it up,” said one such voter, Mona el-Saadat, 66, a retired director of public relations for Coca-Cola who was also voting in Dokki.“Egypt now needs a harsh leader, a leader disciplined enough to make Egypt walk on dough without messing it up,” said one such voter, Mona el-Saadat, 66, a retired director of public relations for Coca-Cola who was also voting in Dokki.
Mahmoud Abdel Salem, 28, a contractor voting for Mr. Sisi in Imbaba, an impoverished neighborhood, agreed. “He will always be president,” he said, “Much longer than eight years.”Mahmoud Abdel Salem, 28, a contractor voting for Mr. Sisi in Imbaba, an impoverished neighborhood, agreed. “He will always be president,” he said, “Much longer than eight years.”
The Muslim Brotherhood, which dominated the free elections after the popular revolt that led to the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, has called the elections illegitimate and has urged a boycott. The new government has jailed its leaders and tens of thousands of their supporters, and security forces have killed more than 1,000 at street protests. The April 6 group and other liberal or left-leaning organizations that played leading roles in the 2011 uprising have also called for a boycott. The Muslim Brotherhood, which dominated the free elections after the popular revolt that led to the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, has called the elections illegitimate and has urged a boycott. The new government has jailed its leaders and tens of thousands of their supporters, and security forces have killed more than 1,000 at street protests. The April 6 group and other liberal or left-leaning organizations that played leading roles in the 2011 uprising have also called for a boycott.
Several other potential candidates declined to run, saying the race was slanted overwhelming in favor of Mr. Sisi as the candidate of the security forces and business elite. On Monday, he faced only one opponent, Hamdeen Sabahi, who represents the same broadly Nasserite political tradition as Mr. Sisi but with far less fame, financial backing or cheering from the state and private news media. Several other potential candidates declined to run, saying the race was slanted overwhelmingly in favor of Mr. Sisi as the candidate of the security forces and business elite. On Monday, he faced only one opponent, Hamdeen Sabahi, who represents the same broadly Nasserite political tradition as Mr. Sisi but with far less fame, financial backing or cheering from the state and private news media.
“With all due respect to Mr. Sabahi, will he be as strong as Mr. Sisi?,” asked Adel el-Masry, 61, a retired government employee who voted for Mr. Sisi in Imbaba. “Does Sabahi have as much support from the government institutions?”“With all due respect to Mr. Sabahi, will he be as strong as Mr. Sisi?,” asked Adel el-Masry, 61, a retired government employee who voted for Mr. Sisi in Imbaba. “Does Sabahi have as much support from the government institutions?”
The turnout was difficult to assess because voting will take place over two days and the temperatures on Monday were unseasonably hot. Many polling stations in the capital were completely or virtually empty by midafternoon, and at least one pro-Sisi political party, the Free Egyptians, acknowledged in a statement that turnout was below expectations. The turnout was difficult to gauge because voting will take place over two days and the temperatures on Monday were unseasonably hot. Many polling stations in the capital were completely or virtually empty by midafternoon, and at least one pro-Sisi political party, the Free Egyptians, acknowledged in a statement that fewer people than expected had voted.
After the polls closed on Monday, the government declared Tuesday a holiday for both public and private employees, presumably to bolster turnout.After the polls closed on Monday, the government declared Tuesday a holiday for both public and private employees, presumably to bolster turnout.
But among those who did vote in Cairo, the atmosphere was euphoric. Shopkeepers or car owners blasted “Bless the Hands,” a pop song celebrating the military and police forces for their role in ousting Mr. Morsi and their subsequent crackdown on his Islamist supporters. In some places, groups of women gathered under makeshift awnings to dance and sing along. Among those who did vote in Cairo, the atmosphere was euphoric. Shopkeepers and car owners blasted “Bless the Hands,” a pop song celebrating the military and police forces for their role in ousting Mr. Morsi and their subsequent crackdown on his Islamist supporters. In some places, groups of women gathered under makeshift awnings to dance and sing.
In an interview on a pro-Sisi talk show on the night before the vote, Abdel Aziz Salman, the general secretary of the High Presidential Election Commission, said it would be permissible for a voter to endorse a candidate by drawing a heart or professing love on a ballot. In an interview on a pro-Sisi talk show the night before the vote, Abdel Aziz Salman, the general secretary of the High Presidential Election Commission, said it would be permissible for a voter to endorse a candidate by drawing a heart or professing love on a ballot. “If he wrote ‘I love you’ before a certain name, then it is not invalid,” Mr. Salman advised, without naming a candidate — or needing to. (The election commission later issued a statement clarifying that voters should not take the time to draw hearts if others were waiting to cast ballots.)
“If he wrote ‘I love you’ before a certain name, then it is not invalid,” Mr. Salman advised, without naming a candidate — or needing to. (The election commission later issued a statement clarifying that voters should not take the time to draw hearts if others were waiting to cast ballots.) Only minor election-related violence was reported, and there were no deaths or injuries. The police dispersed relatively small street protests.
Only minor election-related violence was reported, and there were no deaths or injuries. The police dispersed relatively small street protests that broke out in several places. Mr. Sabahi’s campaign office contended that the judges and police officers manning polling stations had sometimes harassed or excluded its representatives, and that one of its lawyers, Ahmed Hanafi Abu Zaid, had been arrested while observing the voting. In a statement, the Sabahi campaign said that the police had beaten and threatened Mr. Abu Zaid, and turned him over for prosecution in a military court.
Mr. Sabahi’s campaign office contended that the judges and police officers manning polling stations had sometimes harassed or excluded its representatives, and in one case had arrested one of its lawyers, Ahmed Hanafi Abu Zaid, while he was trying to observe the voting. In a statement, the Sabahi campaign said that the police had beaten and threatened Mr. Abu Zaid, and then turned him over for prosecution in a military court.
Mr. Sisi, 59, is set to become Egypt’s fourth president in four years, after Mr. Mubarak (under arrest in a military hospital overlooking the Nile), Mr. Morsi (jailed in Alexandria and facing politicized criminal charges), and the current interim president, Adly Mansour, (a senior judge when Mr. Sisi appointed him to an interim role).Mr. Sisi, 59, is set to become Egypt’s fourth president in four years, after Mr. Mubarak (under arrest in a military hospital overlooking the Nile), Mr. Morsi (jailed in Alexandria and facing politicized criminal charges), and the current interim president, Adly Mansour, (a senior judge when Mr. Sisi appointed him to an interim role).
Mr. Mansour, who will have ruled Egypt for nearly as long as Mr. Morsi, roughly a year, now stands a chance of becoming the first former Egyptian president to remain alive and free. The only former president whose term did not end in death or jail was President Mohamed Naguib, a caretaker who held the job for two years before Gamal Abdel Nasser consolidated power in 1954. But Mr. Nasser then placed Mr. Naguib under house arrest, barring him from further participation in public life.Mr. Mansour, who will have ruled Egypt for nearly as long as Mr. Morsi, roughly a year, now stands a chance of becoming the first former Egyptian president to remain alive and free. The only former president whose term did not end in death or jail was President Mohamed Naguib, a caretaker who held the job for two years before Gamal Abdel Nasser consolidated power in 1954. But Mr. Nasser then placed Mr. Naguib under house arrest, barring him from further participation in public life.