Egypt's Sisi sweeps to third term as president

Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has swept to a third, six-year term as Egypt's president, winning 89.6 per cent of votes in an election in which he faced no serious challengers.

The election took place as Egypt struggles with a slow-burning economic crisis and tries to manage the risk of spillover from the war in Gaza, which borders Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

Some voters said the eruption of conflict in Gaza had encouraged them to vote for Sisi, who has long presented himself as a bulwark of stability in a volatile region - an argument that has also proved effective with Gulf and Western allies providing financial support to his government.

Voting in Egypt was held over three days from December 10-12, with the state and tightly controlled domestic media pushing hard to boost turnout, which the election authority said had reached 66.8 per cent - above the 41 per cent recorded at the last presidential election in 2018.

The election featured three other candidates, none of them high profile. The most prominent potential challenger halted his run in October, saying officials and thugs had targeted his supporters - accusations dismissed by the National Election Authority.

Egypt's state media body has said the vote was a step towards political pluralism and authorities have denied violations of electoral rules.

Sisi, a former general, was elected to the presidency in 2014, and re-elected in 2018, both times with 97 per cent of the vote.

The constitution was amended in 2019, extending the presidential term to six years from four, and allowing Sisi to stand for a third term.