Just three years after dictator Hosni Mubarak was overthrown, Egypt is poised to install a new military regime. The two-day presidential elections in the country began Monday.
Former army chief Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who orchestrated the first democratic president Mohammad Morsi's removal, is set to win the much anticipated polls. The country was under military government for three decades prior to Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader.
The European Union and the U.S.-funded Democracy International are observing the polls. More than 400,000 members of the security forces have been deployed to secure polling stations across the country, reports Reuters.
Experts believe that Sisi will garner a landslide win against his leftist rival Hamdeen Sabahi, who secured third position in the 2012 presidential elections. Around 53 million Egyptians are registered voters, reports the Associated Press
"The Egyptians are coming out to write their history and chart their future," Sisi said shortly after casting his vote.
Worried citizens are seeking stability after years of political turmoil. The country witnessed removal of two presidents within three years. And with Sisi emerging as a powerful figure since Morsi's ouster, Egyptians are willing to take a chance and bring in a new military government.
"I have no option," Salah Mohamed, 32, a government employee, who plans to vote for Sisi, told The Independent. "I'm scared because I have a family to take care of. I'm afraid the economic situation will get worse and then I'll be in real trouble."
In case Sabahi is successful in denying a landslide for Sisi with a respectable showing, it would be a further blow for the ex-military man, showing an existing and active opposition to him in spite of the media hype, states AP.
"I'm voting for Sabahi because of his programme and because Egypt needs a civilian president to begin building a democratic society like other countries have," Fathi Abdelhamid, 58, a manager at an engineering firm, told Reuters.
Despite promoting himself as a mass leader, Sisi has hardly given any details about his political plans. In a recent interview with Sky News Arabia, the 59-year-old former defense minister said that he would improve the country's situation within two years but he did not say how we would do it. Furthermore, he said that he would step down from the presidential post if people were unhappy with him.
Egypt's military backed government has been carefully targeting the Islamist group Brotherhood's supporters after Morsi's removal. Within a year, speedy trials against the people were conducted and at least 1,000 were given death sentences. Brotherhood was declared a terrorist outfit.
Not only this, Mubarak's National Democratic Party has been banned from contesting election over the fear that their political comeback would again put the country in danger.
The Brotherhood has instructed its followers to boycott the elections.
Egyptians living abroad already voiced their opinion in favor of Sisi. Some Sisi supporters in mainland Egypt believe only a military man can bring a stable government. Sisi will have to address some key issues such as bringing up the country's economy and reducing poverty.
