Sisi narrowly misses 100 % vote in Egypt’s controversial prez poll

Al Jazeera
April 3, 2018

In a result that comes as no shock to Egyptians and the rest of the world, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has won the presidential elections with 97 percent of the votes, final results showed, securing another four-year term.

The elections were criticised as a one-man show with no credible opposition, as at least six other candidates pulled out, were prosecuted, or jailed.

Announcing the final results on Monday, Egypt's election commission said there had been a 41.5 percent turnout, lower than the 47 percent in the 2014 election.

The only other opponent who ran against el-Sisi was little-known Mousa Mostafa Mousa, who entered the race hours before the deadline and whose party had previously endorsed el-Sisi.

Preliminary results released on Thursday showed that Mousa had received just three percent of the vote, and according to The Economist, came in third place after more than one million people spoiled their ballot papers.

Some had crossed out the names of the two candidates and added the name of popular Liverpool and Egyptian national football player, Mohamed Salah, reportedly giving him twice as many votes as Mousa.

Yet the results were revised the next day to suggest that there were no spoiled ballots.

"The elections were a joke and a complete fabrication," Sarah Yerkes, a fellow at the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Al Jazeera. "They are not really a meaningful marker for the country."

'Further pain in store for Egyptians'

El-Sisi's first term in office, which he won after the military removed then-President Mohamed Morsi from power, was characterised by promises he failed to deliver on, such as eradicating "terrorism" and improving the country's economy.

Gulf countries, most notably Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, pumped billions of dollars of investments into Egypt when el-Sisi first took office, but that was paralleled by "unprecedented levels" of suppression, James Gelvin, professor of Modern Middle East History at the University of California, Los Angeles, told Al Jazeera.

"The quick infusion of cash did nothing to alleviate the Egyptian economic crisis in the long term, which is the result of poor economic planning, cronyism, and demographic explosion," he said.

The economic crisis in Egypt will be el-Sisi's priority during his second term in office, at the cost of plunging the population into further misery, Galvin said.

The professor cited a number of factors that currently afflict the economy, saying they will likely worsen, such as high unemployment rates, the curtailment of food and fuel, unprecedented income inequality, and plutocratic rule.

"In a world in which neoliberal economic policies are the sole prescription for national economies in crisis, there is only further pain in store for Egyptians," he said.

"When [former presidents] Sadat and Mubarak attempted to impose neoliberal polices, popular revolt – called IMF riots - ensued," he said.

"Under these circumstances, Sisi will undoubtedly continue the harsh repression, probably citing the threat of terrorism as the reason."

Loyalist base

The 63-year-old former commander-in-chief of the armed forces maintains a loyal base of supporters, who view him favourably as a force for stability rather than democracy.

"No one believes he is a democrat," Sarah Yerkes said. "Rather, many Egyptians are happy to sacrifice democracy if it means greater economic performance, stability, and security.

"The problem with that argument," she added, "is that Egypt's economy and security situation have both deteriorated under Sisi's authoritarian rule - not improved."

According to Gelvin, Sisi relies on continued support from the "deep state" - which includes the military, the bureaucracy and the judiciary - and its supporters.

Furthermore, the president's influence is not just contingent upon domestic support but depends on regional and international support that hinges on maintaining the status quo in the region - most notably from Saudi Arabia and the United States.

"Sisi will stay in power so long as the deep state wields the influence it does, and he continues to cow the remainder of the population," Gelvin said.

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News Network
February 5,2020

New Delhi, Feb 5: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday announced that the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra, set up by the government for construction of a temple in Ayodhya, will have 15 trustees and one of them will be from the Dalit community.

The statement comes a little over an hour after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in Lok Sabha about the constitution of the trust.

"There will be 15 trustees in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust out of which one trustee will always be from the Dalit society," he tweeted.

Shah congratulated Modi "for such an unprecedented decision" that strengthens social harmony.

The home minister said the trust will be independent to take every decision related to the temple and 67 acres of land will be transferred to it.

"I fully believe that the waiting of millions of people for centuries will be over soon and they will be able to pay obeisance to Lord Shri Ram in his grand temple at his birthplace," he said.

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News Network
May 27,2020

New Delhi, May 27: As per the prediction from the IMD, severe heatwave conditions continued in several parts of north India with Delhi recording the country’s second-highest temperature at 47.6 degrees Celsius. On the other hand, Churu in Rajasthan sizzled at 50 degrees Celsius, reporting the highest temperature in the country. Also Read - Delhi Temperature: Heatwave to Continue, IMD Issues Alert, Mercury Rises to 46 Degrees

In Delhi, the mercury soared to 47.6 degrees Celsius in Palam area and most places recorded their maximum temperatures six notches above normal. The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, recorded a maximum of 46 degrees Celsius.

The last time when the mercury at the Safdarjung weather station touched the 46-degrees-Celsius mark was on May 19, 2002.

The IMD said the weather stations at Lodhi Road and Aya Nagar recorded their respective maximum at 45.4 degrees and 46.8 degrees Celsius.

In its earlier forecast, the IMD has said that dust storm and thunderstorm with winds gusting up to 60 kilometres per hour is likely over the National Capital Region on Friday and Saturday.

On the other hand, severe heatwave conditions prevailed in several parts of Rajasthan on Tuesday, with the mercury touching 50 degrees Celsius in Churu district.

The IMD said this is the second-highest maximum temperature recorded in Churu district in the month of May in the last 10 years.

Other areas such as Bikaner, Gangangar, Kota and Jaipur recorded maximum temperatures of 47.4 degrees Celsius, 47 degrees Celsius, 46.5 degrees Celsius and 45 degrees Celsius, respectively.

In the adjoining areas of Chandigarh, the severe heatwave condition continued in Haryana, Punjab with Hisar being the hottest place in the region at 48 degrees Celsius.

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Agencies
May 17,2020

New Delhi, May 17: Eight of the 10 most valued domestic firms suffered a combined erosion of Rs 1,37,311.31 crore in market valuation last week, with Reliance Industries (RIL) taking the biggest knock.

Only Bharti Airtel and ITC from the top-10 list managed to close the week with gains.

RIL's market cap plunged Rs 65,232.46 crore to Rs 9,24,855.56 crore.

The market valuation of HDFC Bank declined Rs 22,347.07 crore to Rs 4,87,083.88 crore and that of Hindustan Unilever Limited tanked Rs 13,192.26 crore to Rs 4,77,458.89 crore.

ICICI Bank's market cap dropped Rs 9,770.06 crore to Rs 2,08,900.79 crore.

Infosys witnessed a decline of Rs 9,518.84 crore in valuation to reach Rs 2,77,814.09 crore while that of HDFC tumbled Rs 9,370.38 crore to Rs 2,83,293.70 crore.

The m-cap of Kotak Mahindra Bank slipped by Rs 7,805.2 crore to Rs 2,25,327.22 crore.

Tata Consultancy Services' market valuation dipped Rs 75.04 crore to Rs 7,10,439 crore.

In contrast, Bharti Airtel added Rs 13,147.89 crore to its valuation to stand at Rs 3,02,292.43 crore.

ITC's valuation also rose by Rs 7,744.11 crore to Rs 2,02,330.13 crore.

In the ranking of top-10 firms, RIL retained the number one spot, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, HUL, Airtel, HDFC, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and ITC.

During the last week, the Sensex declined 544.97 points or 1.72 per cent.

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