Supporters of Sisi celebrate at Tahrir Square in Cairo yesterday.

AFP/Cairo

Ex-army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was declared Egypt’s president-elect yesterday, winning 96.9% of the vote in an election nearly a year after he toppled president Mohamed Mursi, whose Islamist allies boycotted the polls.

Voting last week was extended to three days amid fears of low turnout, which election commission head Anwar Rashad al-Asi said was 47.45% at a press conference announcing the results.

Sisi’s lopsided victory had been certain, with many lauding the retired field marshal as a hero for ending Mursi’s divisive rule in July.

Sisi’s only rival, Hamdeen Sabbahi, won just 3% of the vote.

With an economy hammered by years of unrest, Sisi urged Egyptians to “work to return security to this nation”, in a television address after the final results were declared.

“The future is a blank page, and it is in our hands to fill with what we want ... bread, freedom, human dignity, social justice,” he said.

Sisi’s appeal mirrored the slogan of the 2011 uprising that overthrew dictator Hosni Mubarak, as his critics warned the retired field marshal could impose an even more repressive government.

Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, crushed by a massive crackdown following his overthrow and detention, had boycotted the vote.

At least 1,400 people, mostly Islamists, have been killed in street clashes with police, and more than 15,000 people have been arrested.

The crackdown has extended to secular dissidents who spearheaded the uprising against Mubarak, with several of their leaders imprisoned for holding protests against the army-installed government after Mursi’s ouster.

The lower-than-expected turnout in the election—Sisi himself had urged more voters to come out—signalled a wide segment of the population was apathetic or boycotted the election.

Mursi won a 2012 election with 51.7% of the vote, out of a turnout of 52%. He quickly alienated many Egyptians and last year mass protests demanding his resignation erupted.

In Cairo’s Tahrir Square, where protesters had battled police three years ago in an uprising to overthrow Mubarak, several thousand Sisi supporters celebrated and set off fireworks.

“We are celebrating the hope of restoring stability and security,” said Naela Mahmoud, a school principal.

But her daughter, Hala Abu Fadl, 29, recalled the past violence in the iconic square, once synonymous with rebellion against Mubarak and the army, which took over between his overthrow and Mursi’s election in June 2012.

“Celebrating here is difficult,” she said, pointing to a mural depicting a slain protester, at the entrance of a street where activists clashed with police and soldiers in 2011.

Saudi king calls for donor conference

Saudi King Abdullah yesterday hailed the election of Egypt’s ex-army chief Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to the presidency as a “historic day”, calling for a donor conference to help Egypt through its economic troubles.

The king said Sisi’s sweeping win represents a “historic day and a new stage for Egypt”, in a telegram published by Saudi state news agency SPA.

“To the brothers and friends of Egypt ... I invite all to a donors conference ... to help it overcome its economic crisis,” he said.

Riyadh pledged billions of dollars in aid to Egypt’s new authorities after the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi last July.

King Abdullah also urged “brothers and friends to avoid meddling in Egypt’s internal affairs”, warning that harming Egypt would amount to “harming Islam, Arabism and Saudi Arabia”.

He also urged Sisi to open up to the opposition, encouraging him to “accept the other opinion through a national dialogue with all parties whose hands have not been stained by the blood of the innocents”.

The UAE also congratulated Sisi over his landslide win.

“We congratulate you for this precious vote of confidence given to you by Egyptians amid the challenges that they face,” UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan said in a message published by Wam state news agency.