FAYOUM, Egypt — Tucked away in the idyllic Egyptian countryside 100 kilometers (62 miles) southwest of Cairo, the village of Mansheyet Tantawy couldn’t have been further from the pomp and fanfare that engulfed the capital and other major hubs throughout the Egyptian presidential race. Located in the Fayoum governorate, the village had two schools-turned-polling stations serving around 18,000 people. By the early afternoon on the second day of the elections, the slow trickle of voters entering the schools from the main dirt road had already dried up.

“I voted. I took my family and we all voted for Sisi. Who else would be able to handle the country now?” said Khaled Garni, a farmer in his early 40s, a day before former military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi won the elections. Several other villagers echoed this statement with varying amounts of enthusiasm, but the majority met questions about the elections with either indifference or disapproval. Voter turnout in Fayoum, estimated at 31%, was considerably lower than Egypt’s total turnout rate of about 45%, according to judicial sources. Ninety-six percent of Fayoum voters favored Sisi, who dominated the polls in all 27 governorates.

According to Mohamed Fahmy Menza, a professor of political science at the American University of Cairo, Sisi’s sweeping victory over his opponent, Hamdeen Sabahi, in the provinces was secured through the coordinated efforts of rural leaders mobilizing local communities to vote in his favor. “Those working for the Sisi campaign utilized networks and groups that were working with the National Democratic Party (NDP) during Hosni Mubarak’s reign. The campaign is dependent on tribal and extended family ties that seem to be serving them,” he told Al-Monitor. “If a senior or notable figure pledges allegiance, the rest will follow suit.” In some cases voters have little knowledge of candidates or their political platforms. “I don’t know whom I voted for, I just went along, but I voted,” one woman from Mansheyet Tantawy told Al-Monitor, as she watered the plants outside her mud-brick home.

Tribe notables stand to gain considerably by throwing their weight behind Sisi. Under Hosni Mubarak, prominent figures in rural and semirural areas held key administrative positions in their provinces, helping the former regime maintain its hold on the countryside. Replaced by Muslim Brotherhood appointees under Mohammed Morsi, many were looking to make a comeback under Sisi. Tribal organizations held a series of conventions across the country weeks before Sisi announced his decision to run in the elections, to assert their support for the field marshal’s candidacy. “They want to get close to the center of power and authority, pledging allegiance with expectations of payback,” Menza stated.