Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Egypt’s President has clinched a third term in office with a landslide victory of 89.6% total votes in the country’s 2023 presidential election.
President El-Sisi’s victory at the presidential polls – his third in two decades – was announced by the National Elections Authority on Monday, December 18.
The country’s presidential vote held on December 10 to 12 amid Israel’s continuous bombardment of Gaza, and a global call for a ceasefire.
El-Sisi’s win comes as no surprise since his opponents – Farid Zahran, head of the left-leaning Egyptian Social Democratic party; Abdel Sanad Yamama, of Egypt’s oldest party Al Wafd; and Hazem Omar, head of the Republican People’s Party – posed no real threat to his third emergence as President.
Over 39 million Egyptians cast their votes in favour of incumbent El-Sisi, who has been in power since 2014.
Egypt, a country with 106 million people, currently grapples with worsening regional and domestic challenges. The standard of living has soared, and many Egyptians can barely afford to meet their daily needs.