With the outcome known, the government hopes to boost turnout and show it has popular support. State and private media, which all support el-Sissi, say turnout appeared high on the first day, but Associated Press reporters on the ground at a dozen polling stations in Cairo observed only a trickle of voters entering. Election officials say it’s too early to estimate turnout. Press cards issued to journalists note that “foreign observers” are banned from “interfering in the internal affairs of the country.”Security officers check the IDs of those entering polling stations, but allow journalists to conduct interviews. Across the street from the polling station, 19-year-old engineering student Salma Mohammed said that older Egyptians are pressuring young people to vote for el-Sissi.

Source: thestar March 27, 2018 16:07 UTC