Cairo — Egyptian voters say they received payments, food and other incentives to go to the polls as authorities sought on Wednesday to achieve the high turnout President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi wants to legitimise his all but guaranteed victory. As voting went into the third and final day, turnout was seen as the critical factor in an election where any contest was eliminated through the arrest or intimidation of the former military commander’s most serious challengers. The president said he wanted more opponents to stand, but instead faced just one who has been dismissed as a dummy candidate. The election commission has said the vote is free and fair. Sisi, who led the military overthrow of freely elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in 2013, has promised security and stability and to revive the economy after unrest that followed a 2011 uprising. Sisi’s main allies include the US, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In the first two days of voting, turnout was estimated at ...
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