Egypt's presidential election: Sabahi dismisses 'official' turnout figure

Egypt’s leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi conceded on Thursday his defeat in the country’s post-coup presidential election after preliminary results revealed that former army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi had achieved a landslide victory.

Al-Sharq news portal quoted Sabahi as saying: “It is time to respect the people’s choice and admit my loss. We have lost an election but we won our self-respect … I went through the battle of the election in an atmosphere that is harmful for democracy and despite the bias and the unfairness of the media and the state’s institutions.”

Sabahi pointed out that, “the democratic scene was marred by violations and partiality,” adding that: “We cannot give any credibility or ratification to the announced numbers of turnout or results. The announced results are an insult to the intelligence of the Egyptians.”

He concluded, “For the sake of Egypt, I accept these final results despite all these flaws.” However, he rejected the possibility of accepting any position in the government.