A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

An Election Irony

Today was the day Egypt's Higher Elections Committee announced the official results of the elections, with Sisi winning with 96.91% of the vote. Ironically, it was also the day of the Syrian elections, a vote which is likely to make the Egyptian results look like a cliffhanger. Just because Bashar al-Asad doesn't control large portions of his country did not deter him from holding the vote. But whereas Sisi's one opponent actually campaigned (much more in fact than Sisi), the two "opponents" of Asad essentially endorsed him. Many will think the Egyptian results improbable, but few if any will doubt that the Syrian results are a farce.

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