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Egypt’s vote for repression

While Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to win in a landslide, democracy is a loser in today's election in Egypt.
Soldiers secure a road during the presidential elections in Cairo May 26, 2014. Egyptians voted on Monday in a presidential election expected to sweep former army chief Abdel Fatah al-Sisi into office, with supporters brushing aside concerns about human rights and hailing him as the strong leader the country needs. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3QYEX

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.

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