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| Dissenters in Egypt Mock Election Turmoil | Dissenters in Egypt Mock Election Turmoil |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| With dissent in the streets effectively banned by law, Egyptians appeared to register their lack of enthusiasm with the presidential election organized by the military-backed government by staying away from the polls in large numbers, some spoiling their ballots or mocking the process online. | With dissent in the streets effectively banned by law, Egyptians appeared to register their lack of enthusiasm with the presidential election organized by the military-backed government by staying away from the polls in large numbers, some spoiling their ballots or mocking the process online. |
| As my colleague David Kirkpatrick reports from Cairo, turnout was so conspicuously low on what was to have been the second and final day of voting Tuesday that the election commission took the extraordinary step of extending voting for another full day. | As my colleague David Kirkpatrick reports from Cairo, turnout was so conspicuously low on what was to have been the second and final day of voting Tuesday that the election commission took the extraordinary step of extending voting for another full day. |
| The lack of voters in an election meant to confer legitimacy on the former field marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who forced Egypt’s elected president from office last summer, seemed to drive commentators on pro-government television channels into a frenzy. Omar Kamel, an activist filmmaker, added English subtitles to a compilation of clips showing dismayed pundits and anchors attempting to browbeat viewers into voting. | The lack of voters in an election meant to confer legitimacy on the former field marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who forced Egypt’s elected president from office last summer, seemed to drive commentators on pro-government television channels into a frenzy. Omar Kamel, an activist filmmaker, added English subtitles to a compilation of clips showing dismayed pundits and anchors attempting to browbeat viewers into voting. |
| Some of the diatribes against the perceived apathy of Egypt’s nonvoters were so extreme that Mr. Kamel felt it necessary to point out on Twitter that his subtitles were accurate translations, not comedic parodies. | Some of the diatribes against the perceived apathy of Egypt’s nonvoters were so extreme that Mr. Kamel felt it necessary to point out on Twitter that his subtitles were accurate translations, not comedic parodies. |
| With the expected coronation of Mr.Sisi falling flat, schadenfreude was the dominant emotion of Internet activists and bloggers who had played a central role in mobilizing support for the demonstrations that forced President Hosni Mubarak from office in 2011. | With the expected coronation of Mr.Sisi falling flat, schadenfreude was the dominant emotion of Internet activists and bloggers who had played a central role in mobilizing support for the demonstrations that forced President Hosni Mubarak from office in 2011. |
| Others shared images of empty polling places, protest votes and spoiled ballots with comic messages of support for a Real Madrid star, an actress who just graduated from Brown and a fictional character from “Game of Thrones.” | |
| Confidence in the fairness of the vote was not aided by a viral clip uploaded to YouTube on Monday, and viewed more than 400,000 times, that appeared to show one man casting a dozen ballots for Mr. Sisi that were then taken away by someone wearing military camouflage. Election officials disputed the clip’s authenticity. | Confidence in the fairness of the vote was not aided by a viral clip uploaded to YouTube on Monday, and viewed more than 400,000 times, that appeared to show one man casting a dozen ballots for Mr. Sisi that were then taken away by someone wearing military camouflage. Election officials disputed the clip’s authenticity. |
| As several online commentators pointed out, Egyptian voters stayed home despite emergency measures to bolster turnout, like declaring Tuesday a holiday for state employees late Monday night and forcing a popular mall in Cairo to close early on Tuesday and threatening to fine nonvoters. | As several online commentators pointed out, Egyptian voters stayed home despite emergency measures to bolster turnout, like declaring Tuesday a holiday for state employees late Monday night and forcing a popular mall in Cairo to close early on Tuesday and threatening to fine nonvoters. |
| Late in the day, the April 6 Youth Movement, whose leaders have been jailed despite their role in helping to topple not just Mr. Mubarak but also Mohamed Morsi, his successor, eagerly shared video of the panic on one Egyptian television station, which showed five empty polling places at once. | Late in the day, the April 6 Youth Movement, whose leaders have been jailed despite their role in helping to topple not just Mr. Mubarak but also Mohamed Morsi, his successor, eagerly shared video of the panic on one Egyptian television station, which showed five empty polling places at once. |
| As the depth of the debacle became apparent, online discussion turned to whether Egyptians had boycotted the election or stayed away out of apathy. | As the depth of the debacle became apparent, online discussion turned to whether Egyptians had boycotted the election or stayed away out of apathy. |
| Michael Hanna, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation in New York, reminded readers on Twitter that the turnout in the first free presidential election, which also offered a choice that many found uninspiring, was also relatively low. | Michael Hanna, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation in New York, reminded readers on Twitter that the turnout in the first free presidential election, which also offered a choice that many found uninspiring, was also relatively low. |
| As the day ended, the campaign continued into extra time, keeping residents of at least one Cairo neighborhood awake. | As the day ended, the campaign continued into extra time, keeping residents of at least one Cairo neighborhood awake. |