{"id":62060,"date":"2018-04-03T05:59:52","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T05:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=62060"},"modified":"2018-04-03T05:59:52","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T05:59:52","slug":"lopsided-election-win-egypts-president-sissi-tightens-grip-stirs-resentment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/world-news\/lopsided-election-win-egypts-president-sissi-tightens-grip-stirs-resentment.html","title":{"rendered":"In lopsided election win, Egypt’s president Sissi tightens grip and stirs resentment"},"content":{"rendered":"

In lopsided election win, Egypt’s president Sissi tightens grip and stirs resentment<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

With his landslide \u00adreelection victory, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi has deepened his grip on the Arab world\u2019s most populous country and a key U.S. ally, making him arguably the country\u2019s most autocratic leader since it became a republic in 1953.<\/span><\/p>\n

His consolidation of power, marked by wide-scale repression and targeting of opponents, is widely expected to grow in his second term. His supporters are already pushing to alter presidential term limits to allow Sissi to remain in office past his new term.<\/span><\/p>\n

But his outsize economic and political ambitions are at the same time breeding resentment within large segments of the general population and, some analysts say, inside Egypt\u2019s highly influential military.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe past few months have indicated some tensions and divisions,\u201d said Michael Wahid Hanna, a Middle East expert at the Century Foundation. \u201cBut there\u2019s nothing to date that suggests that impacts the way in which Sissi at the end of the day can exercise power. He is in charge.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On Monday, Egypt\u2019s election commission officially confirmed what was already a foregone conclusion: In an election where Sissi arrested or pushed out all of his credible challengers, he won 97 percent of all valid votes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Critics say Sissi has been emboldened by President Trump, feeling free to use coercion in securing a landslide victory. Since Trump signaled during a trip to Saudi Arabia in May that human rights in the Middle East would not be a priority for the White House, repression under Sissi has escalated.<\/span><\/p>\n

[Trump congratulates Egypt\u2019s Sissi after what critics call a sham election]<\/span><\/p>\n

On Monday, Trump called Sissi to congratulate him on his election victory. A White House statement said, \u201cThe two leaders affirmed the strategic partnership between the United States and Egypt, and noted that they look forward to advancing this partnership and addressing common challenges.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Voter turnout, however, was only 41 percent \u2014 six points lower than in the 2014 presidential election. Voter participation dropped despite a campaign by Sissi loyalists, business executives and local authorities to get Egyptians to go to the polls with offers of cash, food, services \u2014 and even religious trips to Saudi Arabia.<\/span><\/p>\n

The proportion of \u201cspoiled votes\u201d was more than 7 percent, higher than in any previous Egyptian election.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere were more people too disillusioned to enter the polls, and probably a lot more people going to the polls who didn\u2019t want to go to the polls than last time,\u201d said Timothy Kaldas, a political analyst with the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. \u201cThis time the urgency amongst the population to vote was a lot less than last time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

[Egypt\u2019s farcical election and the long Arab winter]<\/span><\/p>\n

Sissi\u2019s supporters applaud his ambition. They point to his economic and infrastructure projects, including building new roads, expanding electricity capacity, and encouraging more investments in the country\u2019s oil and gas sectors.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Sissi has also embarked on expensive megaprojects, including a new branch of the Suez Canal and a $45 billion new administrative capital outside Cairo. Many economists say these will provide little return for years, even decades.<\/span><\/p>\n

The funds, critics say, could be better spent helping Egypt\u2019s mostly impoverished population of about 100 million people. While the economy is showing signs of a rebound, even middle-class Egyptians are struggling to cope with rising prices, falling subsidies, and austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund.<\/span><\/p>\n

In his second term, Sissi will face growing expectations from ordinary Egyptians. Many who voted for him said in interviews that they hoped he would produce more jobs for youth, better services, and lower prices so meat and other basic items could be more affordable.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe things I most wish he takes care of in his coming term are education and health services,\u201d said Mona Kamel, 52, a housewife who voted for Sissi. \u201cThis is what will build the infrastructure for our country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Other supporters of the president credit him with restoring stability, especially after the violence that followed the 2011 Arab Spring revolt that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. Two years later, the military led by Sissi overthrew the elected Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, and later jailed him along with tens of thousands of members of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those actions helped trigger a rise in Islamist militancy, including the emergence of an Islamic State affiliate in the northern Sinai Peninsula and new threats in the Western Desert.<\/span><\/p>\n

[Militant threat emerges in Egyptian desert, opening new front in terrorism fight]<\/span><\/p>\n

Sissi\u2019s supporters give him good marks on fighting extremism, but his critics say he\u2019s using the specter of terrorism to target anyone deemed a threat to his regime.<\/span><\/p>\n

Days after Trump\u2019s speech in Saudi Arabia, Sissi blocked dozens of websites. Now more than 500 sites are blocked. Human rights groups say that extrajudicial killings are on the rise and that hundreds of activists have \u201cforcibly disappeared\u201d at the hands of Egypt\u2019s security services.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Egyptian government has also tried to tame the foreign media, especially when it is critical. Egypt\u2019s prosecutor general has referred to the foreign media as \u201cforces of evil\u201d and vowed to take legal action against anyone who publishes \u201cfake news\u201d that harms the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

The United States withheld nearly $300 million in military and economic aid to Egypt in August over human rights concerns, surprising Sissi\u2019s government, and U.S. diplomats say they are working privately to raise human rights concerns with Egyptians. The United States, however, still provides $1.3 billion in aid annually.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sissi took no chances with the election. He arrested two former military commanders \u2014 Lt. Gen Sami Anan and Col. Ahmed Konsowa \u2014 after they announced their intention to challenge him. Ahmed Shafik, a former prime minister and air force chief, withdrew after reportedly facing pressure from the regime. Two other candidates pulled out, citing intimidation and attacks by the government media.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ahead of the election, Sissi also targeted several high-ranking military figures. In October, Sissi fired his army chief, and in January, he fired his top intelligence chief. Some analysts said that these actions may have been a response to disaffection among some in the military and intelligence services and that this could augur more tension ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sissi also courted controversy by ratifying an agreement under which Egypt gave two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, triggering protests at which he was accused of selling Egyptian lands for aid. Some in the military agreed with that criticism, Hanna said, adding that neither Anan nor Shafik would have considered running against Sissi without support from some military figures.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSissi\u2019s inner circle sees this as a red line,\u201d Hanna said. \u201cThe idea of unity of the security establishment is important. And any attempt to introduce divisions is dealt with harshly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In a televised victory speech on Monday night, Sissi said he would work for all Egyptians, including the ones who did not vote for him. \u201cOur country is painting a great national painting, a painting that does not exclude anyone,\u201d he said. \u201cThe scene of Egyptians, from all walks of life, lining up [to vote] was inspiring and hopeful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He also thanked his sole challenger, Moussa Mostafa Moussa, for leading \u201can honorable and civilized competition which showed his patriotism and decent political decorum.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

[In Egypt\u2019s presidential election, a strongman\u2019s only challenger is barely campaigning]<\/span><\/p>\n

But for many Egyptians, Moussa\u2019s candidacy underscored that the election was a farce. An obscure candidate who publicly backed Sissi for a second term, Moussa was widely derided by Egyptians as \u201ca puppet\u201d running to provide a democratic veneer to the election.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kaldas said Sissi has been effective in his recent takedowns of detractors and those he suspects are against him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHis ability to do so suggests that whoever within the regime has objections to Sissi, they are neither powerful enough or organized enough to be consequential right now,\u201d Kaldas said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Heba Farouk Mahfouz in Cairo and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/in-lopsided-election-win-egypts-president-sissi-tightens-grip-and-stirs-resentment\/2018\/04\/02\/b313c6ec-3683-11e8-af3c-2123715f78df_story.html?utm_term=.0772b22fc3e5<\/span><\/p>\n

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