On the second day of Sisi's Elections: Limited turnout and absence of young people

Egyptians continued to vote in “limited” numbers in the afternoon of the second day of the presidential elections, while reports showed a distinct lack of young voters, Anadolu news agency correspondent and eyewitnesses said.

The turnout at polling stations in Qalubia, north of Cairo, was so poor that parties intensified their efforts to mobilise citizens. They sent voters text messages, provided transport and had vehicles with loudspeakers travel through the streets and call on people to partake in the elections, Anadolu correspondents said.

In Dakahlia in the Nile Delta, Al-Nour Party who support Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi and a number of leaders of the National Party, which was headed by the ousted President Hosni Mubarak, called, through loudspeakers, on the voters to come out and participate in the elections, an invitation that has not received widespread acceptance amongst citizens, according to eyewitnesses.

The calls for voters via touring vehicles were also reported in the governorates of Port Said – in the north-east, Fayoum and Beni Suef – central Egypt, Menoufia and Gharbia – in the Nile Delta and Al-Bahira – in the north.

The polling stations in Beni Suef and Al-Minya, in central Egypt, were empty due to the low turnout of voters despite the fact that the day was declared a public holiday. The same occurred in the governorates of Ismailia, Port Said, Menoufia, Kafr El-Sheikh and Al-Gharbia – in the Nile Delta, the Red Sea, Alexandria and Al-Bahira, in the north.

For the second day in a row, the absence of young people from the elections was evident, while female and elderly voters continued to dominate the electoral process.

In some polling stations, voters experienced a delay in the opening of the stations for periods ranging from 30 minutes to an hour. The same delays were also reported in 18 stations in Beni Suef, six stations in Al-Menya, six in Menoufia, as well as three in Kafr El-Sheikh.

At the same time, a campaign was launched by the supporters of Hamdeen Sabahi with a hashtag named “Hamdeen’s Tuesday“. The campaign then announced that its hashtag has the largest number of followers on Twitter.

On its page on the social networking website, the campaign renewed its call for voters to participate in the elections and cast their ballots.

On Monday, polling stations closed at 9pm, ending the first day of voting with a turnout which fell below expectations, according to a government official. Polling stations re-opened at 9am yesterday.