King wants better Egypt ties after Sisi’s landslide win

AMMAN/CAIRO — His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday sent a cable of congratulation to Egypt’s President-elect Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, expressing confidence in the ability of the newly elected leader in building a better future for the Egyptian people and restoring the Egypt’s leading position in the Arab region.

On Monday, Egypt’s Presidential Election Commission officially declared Sisi as Egypt’s new president after winning 96 per cent of the votes in the recent presidential election.

In his cable to Sisi, His Majesty voiced keenness on enhancing the Jordanian-Egyptian relations in all fields and on maintaining coordination and consultation over Arab and Islamic issues, said a Royal Court statement.

The Monarch also congratulated Sisi in a telephone call earlier in the day. 

A former Egyptian army chief, Sisi secured a landslide victory in the country’s presidential vote last week, the election commission confirmed on Tuesday, with 96.91 per cent of the votes, Reuters repored

Turnout was about 47 per cent of Egypt’s 54 million voters, the commission said — less than the 40 million votes, or 80 per cent of the electorate, that Sisi had called for.

Sisi gained wide support from Egyptians after toppling president Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood last year, prompted by mass protests against his rule.

He now faces a wide array of challenges in a country where street demonstrations have helped to topple two leaders in three years.

The lower-than-expected turnout raises questions about Sisi’s ability to maintain his popularity while attempting to fix a battered economy, ease poverty and prevent further political crises from paralysing Egypt.

For now, Sisi supporters seemed content to celebrate the moment, gathering by the thousands in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the symbolic heart of the uprising that ousted Mubarak in 2011.