The Egyptian president-elect, former army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, told Egyptians it is now “time to work” to rebuild the economy after he was officially declared the landslide winner of last week’s election, restoring a career military man to the country’s top office.
Thousands celebrated in public squares around the country with cheers, fireworks and pro-military songs after the Egyptian Election Commission officially announced al-Sisi’s victory.
The commission said al-Sisi garnered 23.78 million votes — or 96.9 percent of the total. His sole rival, leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, received 775,000 — fewer than the 1.4 million invalid ballots cast.
Al-Sisi brings Egypt into a new phase in its tumultuous drama since the 2011 pro-democracy uprising that ousted former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak after 29 years in power. The following year, former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi became the country’s first democratically elected president, only to face massive protests by millions against him and his Muslim Brotherhood.
Al-Sisi, then the army chief, ousted Morsi last summer and led a heavy crackdown on the Brotherhood and other Islamists that killed hundreds and jailed thousands more. The now retired field marshal was elevated to heroic status among his supporters, who hailed his removal of Islamists and saw him as the hope for restoring stability after three years of turmoil.
Al-Sisi now restores a chain of five Egyptian presidents of military background since the 1952 coup against the monarchy — with Morsi the sole exception, not counting two interim presidents.
To critics — including many activists who led the 2011 revolt, known as the Jan. 25 Revolution — al-Sisi brings fears of a return to Mubarak’s autocratic state. Already, there have been sharp limits put on the right to protest, secular dissenters have been arrested, reports of police abuses have risen, and the president-elect himself has said many rights must take a back seat to restoring stability.
Some activists vowed the pro-democracy campaign will continue. The youth branch of April 6, a group that was at the helm of the anti-Mubarak protests, but was recently banned by a court order, posted a picture of the al-Sisi celebrations in Tahrir, calling it “dancing over the bodies of martyrs.”
“Take the square, do what you want,” it said addressing al-Sisi supporters. “The revolution is coming despite what everything.”
The first world leader to congratulate al-Sisi was his close ally, Saudi Arabian King Abdullah, who was also opposed to the toppling of Mubarak. The monarch declared that the turmoil sparked by the Arab Spring should now come to a close.
“The brotherly Egyptian people have suffered during the past period of chaos. The short-sighted called it ‘creative chaos,’” the king said in a letter on the Saudi state news agency.
He called for a donors conference to help Egypt “get out of the tunnel,” referring to its wrecked economy. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies have already given Egypt about US$20 billion in aid, and more is expected after al-Sisi’s win.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was far more restrained in remarks from his spokesman. Taking note of the results, he urged Egyptian authorities to strengthen democratic institutions and practices and called on the president-elect to “do everything possible to support the Egyptian people’s aspirations for a stable, democratic, and prosperous Egypt.”
Al-Sisi is to be sworn into office on Sunday before a host of Egyptian and foreign dignitaries. Among those invited is Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, according to Rouhani’s Web site. It did not say whether he would accept the invitation.
Speaking in a televised address after the results announcement, al-Sisi said, “It is now time to work — work that will carry Egypt to a bright tomorrow and better future and restore stability.”
“The future is a white page and it is in our hands to fill it as we wish,” he said.
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