Democratic legitimacy has been a difficult topic of conversation in Egypt following the overthrow of Mohammed Morsi’s government on July 3, 2013, by current presidential hopeful and former Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Yet, as Egyptians pour into polling centers across the country on May 26 to vote for the sixth time in a political process since the 2011 revolution, what democratic legitimacy means, particularly in elections, will define state-society relations for years to come.

The arguments over whether to call Morsi’s overthrow a coup or revolution are still unresolved: Most Egyptians tend to refer to it as a revolution, while foreign governments are still reluctant to refer to it all, instead vaguely citing the will of the people, and the international media unabashedly calls Morsi’s overthrow a military coup.

Nothing in Egypt’s current political environment favors open, multiparty elections allowing the full and equal participation of all Egyptians and preserving the freedom of the local and international press to report objectively. Instead, Sisi has created a clear divide in society — you are either with him or against him.

Any criticism of the former defense minister’s actions is barely tolerated. The Muslim Brotherhood in its various manifestations of social movement, political party and civil society organization is now illegal. Local and foreign journalists for Al Jazeera have been imprisoned for “collaborating with terrorists” because they spoke to Brotherhood members to get all sides of a story. Those still reporting face serious pressure from the Ministry of Information to soften their coverage in accords with the government’s agenda. Pro-democracy activists including numerous members of the revolutionary April 6 Movement have been imprisoned for months for protesting the military’s involvement in politics as well as the government’s barbaric crackdown on pro-Brotherhood demonstrators in August 2013. And, yet, most Egyptians have gladly accepted that this election, which will undoubtedly see Sisi’s ascent to power, unlike the election of the Brotherhood, are somehow democratically legitimate. The overwhelming support for a nationalist, strongman to supposedly steer the country to stability and prosperity in this farce of elections is reminiscent of the days of Hosni Mubarak.