Still Mr. 97 Percent, Egypt's El-Sisi Defeats Token Opponent
- Race criticized as a referendum after most opponents pull out
- Turnout was key for El-Sisi’s mandate in second term
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Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi cruised to a second term as Egypt’s president, scooping up more than 97 percent of valid votes in an election where the only other candidate was a little-known supporter.
Mousa Mostafa Mousa’s last-minute bid was widely considered a token gesture to avoid a one-man race seven years after the uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade rule. Of some 60 million registered voters, nearly 25 million, or 41 percent, cast ballots compared to 47 percent in the 2014 election that cemented the ex-general in office, according to results announced by the National Election Authority on Monday.