Egypt’s sham election features two candidates, but no choice

SINCE one in four Egyptian voters cannot read, political candidates pick symbols to identify themselves on the ballot. Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, the president, chose a star. It shines down from billboards across the country alongside his ubiquitous visage, smiling on a farm or peering through binoculars aboard a warship. His opponent in the coming election, Moussa Mustafa Moussa, chose an aeroplane. Walking past a poster of Mr Moussa, a man laughs at his choice: “It’s because he’ll need to fly away if anyone votes for him.”

There is little else to say about the election itself, which begins on March 26th and lasts three days. Mr Sisi will win. His opponent has lived up to a promise not to challenge the president. Across the whole of Cairo your correspondent has seen only four banners in support of Mr Moussa. The only question is whether the electorate will turn out in greater numbers than they did for the last presidential election, in 2014, when 47% voted. Mr Sisi’s critics have called for a...Continue reading

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