Egyptians began voting for a new president on Monday, with ex-army chief Abdel Fattah El Sisi expected to win in a landslide. The frontrunner and former army chief deposed the country’s first democratically elected Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July – a move that unleashed the bloodiest violence in Egypt’s recent history.
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Mr El Sisi’s only election rival, Hamdeen Sabahi, waiting to cast his vote during the presidential election in Cairo, May 26, 2014. Steve Crisp/Reuters -
Polling stations opened at 0600 GMT for 53 million registered voters. Marwan Naamani/AFP Photo -
Many view the vote as a referendum on stability versus the freedoms promised by the Arab Spring-inspired popular uprising that ousted veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Mahmoud Khaled/AFP Photo -
The country of 86 million people has been rocked by sporadic unrest and a tanking economy since then. Marwan Naamani/AFP Photo -
A police officer stands guard near Egyptians waiting for a polling station to open during the Egyptian presidential election in Cairo May 26, 2014. Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters -
Long queues of men and women were seen across several polling stations in Cairo. Mahmoud Khaled/AFP Photo -
The election caps more than three years of political turmoil in Egypt, which has seen two presidents ousted following mass protests, thousands killed in clashes and militant attacks, and an economy left in tatters. Steve Crisp/Reuters -
Polling closes at 1800 GMT on May 26 and continues on May 27, 2014. Mahmoud Khaled/AFP Photo -
Mr El Sisi, centre, who quit the army in March to run for president, is riding a wave of popularity after ousting Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July last year, and crushing his Muslim Brotherhood movement. Khaled Desouki/AFP Photo
In pictures: Egyptians vote for a president
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