Egypt News 2014: Nation Braces for Violence on Election Day
Egypt is bracing for the possibility of violent clashes during the presidential election Monday, which comes 11 months after the overthrow of the country's first democratically elected president.
The frontrunner in the election is former military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the army to oust Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi last July with general support from the public.
According to numerous polls, al-Sisi is the clear frontrunner to win the election, USA Today reported.
The other candidate in the election is leftist leader Hamdeen Sabahi, who is supported by much of the country's youth and is running on a platform of fighting for the rights of the underprivileged.
"While Egypt is going through the motions of presidential elections, the reality is that there is one candidate on the presidential ballot and that is Abdel Fattah al-Sisi," said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics.
"Barring a political miracle, or God forbid an assassination attempt on his life, I think al-Sisi will be the next president of Egypt," he said.
The election Monday is taking place under an interim, military-backed government.
The current acting president Adly Mansour urged Egyptians to vote to "enrich the political process in Egypt."
While Mansour said state institutions are not favoring one candidate, state media has openly supported al-Sisi.
His supporters believe that he can rebuild the economy and restore political stability after more than three years of uncertainty and unrest. However, some believe al-Sisi staged a coup against Morsi, who was elected in 2012 in what was considered a fair election process.
A Muslim Brotherhood-led alliance said in a statement to "boycott the blood ballot."
Authorities have cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood in the past 10 months after the Brotherhood-backed Morsi reportedly failed to lead the country during his one-year tenure.
The overall crackdown on Islamists has prompted violence against police and government buildings and has led to thousands of casualties and mass imprisonments.
Thousands of police and armed forces have been deployed to prevent violence from breaking out on election day.
The U.S. Embassy, which is located in Cairo, is warning Americans to stay in their areas of residence Monday and Tuesday because of the possibility of violence breaking out in attempts to disrupt the elections.