Egypt Adds a Day of Balloting to Boost Low Voter Turnout

In a move being seen as a blatant boost for presidential candidate and predicted winner Abdel-Fatteh Al-Sisi, a third day of voting has been added to the election. In days leading up to the voting, the conventional wisdom was that a large turnout was expected and would be interpreted as a sign of overwhelming approval of Al-Sisi. Against that background, the low turnout recorded so-far can be seen as a sign the Egyptian people are either uninterested in the election or are not as excited about Al-Sisi’s ascent to the presidential palace as previously believed. The former head of the Egyptian military only faces one other candidate – and that candidate is viewed as a long shot. State run media is exhorting Egyptians to vote, calling those who do not “traitors.”