An Egyptian man casts his ballot during the presidential election, at a polling station in downtown Cairo on December 10, 2023. (Photo by Khaled Desouki / AFP)
Cairo: Polling stations opened on Sunday for Egyptians to vote in a presidential election overshadowed by war in neighbouring Gaza and with little doubt the incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will secure a third term.
In a country gripped by the most severe financial crisis in its recent history -- inflation has hovered near 40 percent after the currency lost half its value and drove up the cost of imports -- the economy is the crux of Egyptians' concerns.
Even before the current crisis, about two-thirds of the country's nearly 106 million people were living on or below the poverty line.
Before polls opened at 9am (0700 GMT), dozens of voters had already crowded in front of a polling station in a central Cairo school amidst heavy security, an AFP correspondent reported.
Voting will take place from Sunday until Tuesday, between 9am and 9pm each day, with the official results announced on December 18.
In front of the Cairo polling station, posters bore messages to "get out and participate" while a DJ played nationalist songs.
Some 67 million people are eligible to vote, and all eyes will be on turnout after successive previous elections mustered low participation figures.
"Of course people need to participate, but let's be realistic: these elections are set for Sisi, because no one knows the other candidates," a voter in her fifties told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"Yes, there's inflation and things are hard, but we need someone capable of handling what's happening at the border," she added, referring to Egypt's border with Gaza.
Inflation is at 38.5 percent and food inflation 45.2 percent, official figures showed on Sunday, leaving Egyptians anxious.
Voter Fathi Ali, 79, said he "only asks that the next president ensures full health insurance".
The three other candidates are all relative unknowns among the public: Farid Zahran, leader of the left-leaning Egyptian Social Democratic Party; Abdel-Sanad Yamama, from the Wafd, a century-old but relatively marginal party; and Hazem Omar, from the Republican People's Party.
