ASSESSMENTS

Explaining Egypt's Poor Election Turnout

Oct 21, 2015 | 09:01 GMT

Egyptian officials sit in an empty polling station in Cairo's Giza district during Egypt's parliamentary elections on Oct. 19.

(KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Summary

The Egyptian government failed to generate strong voter turnout for the first phase of its multi-step parliamentary elections ending Oct. 19. The government has delayed the election multiple times since the country's last legislature was dissolved following the July 2013 military coup, citing at times logistical difficulties, security concerns or most recently difficulties drafting a fiercely debated electoral law. Voter turnout — which domestic media and government officials have put anywhere from 12 to 17 percent — fell far short of the over 60 percent that came out in May 2014 to elect incumbent President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Al-Sisi's government had been counting on strong turnout to legitimize the future legislature, empowering it to push through a series of significant economic reforms. If so few voters turn out for future stages of the election and public sentiment begins to turn against the still largely popular al-Sisi, dissent may delay political and economic reform initiatives, possibly defeating Cairo's attempts to make itself less dependent on financial aid from Gulf states. 

The Egyptian government failed to generate strong voter turnout for the first phase of its multi-step parliamentary elections ending Oct. 19. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government had been counting on strong turnout to legitimize the future legislature, empowering it to push through a series of significant economic reforms. If so few voters turn out for future stages of the election and public sentiment begins to turn against the still largely popular al-Sisi, dissent may delay political and economic reform initiatives, possibly defeating Cairo's attempts to make itself less dependent on financial aid from Gulf states. ...

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