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Egypt is facing the most severe financial crisis in its recent history. Inflation has hovered near 40 percent after the currency lost half its value and drove up the cost of imports
Polling stations opened Sunday (yesterday) for Egyptians to vote in a presidential election overshadowed by the war in neighbouring Gaza. As reported by www.trendsnafrica.com, there is little doubt that the incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will secure a third term.
Egypt is facing the most severe financial crisis in its recent history. Inflation has hovered near 40 percent after the currency lost half its value and drove up the cost of imports. About two-thirds of the country’s nearly 106 million people were living on or below the poverty line. There was heavy security during the polling day. People thronged to the polling stations to exercise their franchise. Voting will take place from Sunday until Tuesday. The official results will be announced on December 18.
Over 67 million people are eligible to vote. Low turnout for elections has been a matter of concern. A decade-long crackdown on dissent has eliminated any serious opposition to Sisi. He is the fifth president to emerge from within the ranks of the military since 1952. He does not have any opponents worth the name in the fray. The three other candidates are all relative unknowns among the public: Farid Zahran, leader of the left-leaning Egyptian Social Democratic Party; Abdel-Sanad Yamama, from the Wafd, a century-old but relatively marginal party; and Hazem Omar, from the Republican People’s Party.
Read Also:
https://trendsnafrica.com/egypts-election-results-forgone-conclusion-political-analysts/
https://trendsnafrica.com/egypts-external-debt-recorded-usd-164-7bn-in-june-2023-rising-5-8-y-o-y/
Sisi, a retired Field Marshall in the Egyptian army, came to power in 2013 after leading the overthrow of elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi following mass protests. In both the 2014 and 2018 elections, he won landslide victories with over 96 percent of the vote, according to official results.
