"[6][7] They said the authorities had "trampled over even the minimum requirements for free and fair elections", stifling basic freedoms and eliminating key challengers.

[8] In the announcement of his candidacy, he stated, "There are people I know who are corrupt, I will not allow them to come near this chair.”[12] President Sisi received the endorsement of 464 members of Egyptian Parliament, approximately two thirds of the body.

[28] According to Foreign Policy, "the March vote will in no way confirm President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's popularity among the Egyptian people.

This election campaign is merely an extension of the internal power struggle among the military and the regime's security services, and it has nothing to do with democratic mechanisms worthy of the name.

"[29] Following the elections, it was reported that large number of spoilt ballot papers, possibly more than a million, involved voters crossing out both names and writing that of football player Mohamed Salah.