Egypt’s Presidential Election Concludes: Sisi In The Lead

Preliminary results from Egypt’s 2024 presidential elections indicate that the current President, Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, is in line for a third term, leading by a significant margin with over 90 percent of the vote share, as reported by state-owned Extra News TV on December 13.

Challengers Hazem Omar of the People’s Republican Party and Abdel-Sanad Yamama of the Wafd Party are vying for the second spot. Farid Zahran, representing the Social Democratic Party, currently stands in fourth position based on early vote counts.

Initial figures depict Al-Sisi leading by a substantial margin of 898,076 votes across several governorates, including Cairo, Alexandria, Gharbiya, Daqahliya, and Luxor.

In comparison, the runners-up, Omar and Yamama, have accrued 50,317 and 23,926 votes respectively.

The voting window for Egypt’s presidential elections closed on December 12 after commencing on December 10. Approximately 30 million eligible voters (45 percent) cast their ballots by the second day of voting.

Al-Sisi first assumed office on June 8, 2014, emerging as a key figure during the 30 June Revolution in 2013.

He was re-elected for a second term on June 3, 2018, securing 97 percent of the vote in the 2018 presidential election.

Before 2019, a second victory would have marked the end of Al-Sisi’s presidential tenure. However, a constitutional referendum, backed by the majority of Egypt’s House of Representatives, extended the presidential term from four to six years, paving the way for the possibility of two additional six-year terms.

The National Election Authority (NEA) is anticipated to officially announce the election results on December 18. A formal declaration of Al-Sisi’s victory would extend his presidency until 2030.

Egypt’s presidential elections concluded on Tuesday, as reported by the Egyptian news agency MENA, marking the initiation of the crucial ballot-counting process.

The three-day elections featured four candidates, with incumbent President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi prominently positioned as the frontrunner.

While Al-Sisi is expected to secure a third term, he faced competition from three other candidates: Farid Zahran, leader of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party; Abdel-Sanad Yamama, head of the Egyptian Wafd party; and Hazem Omar, leader of the Republican People’s Party.

Al-Sisi clinched his first and second terms in 2014 and 2018 respectively. Constitutional amendments subsequently extended the presidential mandate and enabled his candidacy for a third term.