CAIRO (AP) — Egyptians are voting on the final day of an election that is virtually guaranteed to hand a second four-year term to President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.
El-Sissi faces only a token opponent in balloting that resembles the referendums held by autocrats for decades before the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011 briefly raised hopes of democratic change.
The government is hoping for high turnout to lend the vote legitimacy, and has staggered the voting over three days, with polls closing Wednesday at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT). Official results are expected on April 2.
Nearly 60 million Egyptians are eligible to vote in some 13,700 polling centers. Turnout appears to be low so far, with short lines in front of some polling stations and others virtually empty.
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