CAIRO — There are different ways to look at the preliminary results of Egypt’s presidential elections. One way is to view the turnout figures of 47.7% as a defeat to the regime. The extension of the vote for a third day and the mobilization of the media and state institutions could not deliver the 40 million or 74% voter turnout demanded by former Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

“Results indicate that the street has broken the totalitarian base through which Sisi claimed people loved him,” said Amr Ali, coordinator of the April 6 Youth Movement, banned by a court order on April 28. “The opposition can raise their voice once again and talk to people on the street with more ease,” Ali told Al-Monitor. The group’s street activities now attract a few hundred people at best and are subject to attacks.

Ignoring that 23.9 million voted for Sisi and focusing on this subjective perception of a defeat doesn’t mean a victory for the opposition. “This is a glorious win for Sisi. Otherwise, we would be kidding ourselves,” said Yehia El-Gammal, assistant to the president of the Dostour (Constitution) Party, which backed Sisi’s only rival, Hamdeen Sabahi.

The numbers carry a humiliating defeat to the organized opposition forces that failed to mobilize voters for Sabahi. Despite his recurrent claims that he had a chance in the race, many only voted for him in the hopes of getting a number big enough to force a dissenting voice on an authoritarian regime and get an attentive ear from a nation that equates opposition with instability.