Amid a lower than expected turnout, Egyptians are under pressure to cast their ballots in a presidential election with authorities extending the poll into a third day and threatening fines for anyone failing to vote.<br /><br />Former army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi looks certain to win but a poor participation rate could undermine his credibility.<br /><br />Aziza Anwar, a voter in Cairo, said that her husband had prevented her from voting. <br /><br />“I thank God they extended it for one more day,” she said, making a victory sign and holding a small Egyptian flag. <br /><br />“I have been up all night to be sure of being the first one outside. Thank God.”<br /><br />Sisi himself was one of the 37 percent or so to vote on the scheduled first two days. Distancing him from the one day extension, seen by some as a desperate move, his campaign announced that the ex-military leader had objected to the decision.<br /><br />His only opponent is leftist Hamdeen Sabahi. His camp rejected the extension, saying that it was an unjustified attempt at manipulation.<br /><br />Turnout in the 2012 election won by Egypt’s first democratically-elected president Mohamed Mursi was 52 percent. <br /><br />For Sisi, locked in a battle with Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood after toppling the Islamist leader last year, the stakes are high.
