Ramaphosa congratulates Egyptian President on his re-election for a third term

Johnathan Paoli

President Cyril Ramaphosa has congratulated the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi after winning his third six-year term with a 89.6 % vote, in what Egyptian election officials called an “unprecedented” 66.8% voter turnout.

Over 39 million Egyptians cast their ballots for al-Sisi, a former army chief who has ruled the most populous Arab country for a decade.

Unlike SA, the Egyptian constitution allows for three consecutive terms, and Sisi is expected to start his final term in office starting in April next year.

Hazem Omar, who leads the Republican People’s Party, came in second and received 4.5 percent of the vote. Next was Farid Zahran, leader of the left-leaning Egyptian Social Democratic Party, and Abdel-Sanad Yamama from the Wafd, a century-old but relatively marginal party.

Ramaphosa said the historic elections reflected the will of the people of Egypt in charting their future and commended the other candidates for