With 89.6% of vote, Egypt's Sisi wins presidential election

Cairo: With about 40 million ballots, or 89.6% of valid votes, incumbent President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi was declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election by Egypt's National Election Authority (NEA).

At a press conference in Cairo, Chairman of the NEA Hazem Badawy said on Monday that nearly 44.8 million citizens at home and abroad voted in the election, out of around 67 million eligible voters, representing a turnout of 66.8 per cent, which is "the highest turnout in Egypt's history".

Hazem Omar, who leads the Republican People's Party, won 4.5 per cent of the vote, followed by the Egyptian Social Democratic Party's Farid Zahran, and the Egyptian Wafd Party's Abdel-Sanad Yamama, Xinhua news agency reported.

Following the announcement of the election's results, Sisi gave a speech to the nation, in which he said "choosing me for the mission of leading the country is a responsibility that I bear faithfully".

"The state is grappling with a multitude of challenges across all levels," on top of which is the conflict in Gaza that threatens "Egypt's national security," he added.

"We own the military and economic capabilities for persevering the national security and the people gains," the Egyptian President said.

Voting in Egypt took place on December 10-12 while Egyptians abroad cast their vote on December 1-3 in 121 countries.

The result is final as the incumbent candidate's winning a large majority to waive the country of a run-off, according to Egyptian laws.

With inputs from IANS