Egypt: Democracy not part of the Presidential election equation as Egypt’s president scoops election win with 97 percent of the vote

Egypt’s incumbent president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been re-elected after reaping a whopping 97 percent of the vote, the country’s election commission announced Monday.

The former army chief, 63, picked up the same result four years ago when he was elected for his first term.

Despite this, the turnout for this year’s race was lower than in 2014 where only 41 percent of voters took part, compared to 47.5 percent previously.

And Sisi’s stunning win was virtually guaranteed earlier in 2018 after all serious opposition candidates pulled out.

His sole opponent in last week’s vote was Al Ghad party leader Mousa Mostafa Mousa.

Sisi first took office after toppling Egypt's first freely elected president, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi, in a coup d'état in 2013.

The move was prompted by widespread national protests against Morsi's rule after just one year in power.

Read more: Egypt’s president scoops election win with 97 percent of the vote | Eurone

Middle East: Egypt: US Republicans back Egypt’s Sisi despite rights concerns

A US Republican delegation visiting Cairo on Sunday said President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was the "right man at the right time" for Egypt even as Washington criticizes alleged rights abuses in the country.

The six-member delegation led by hawkish senator Lindsey Graham backed Sisi in the fight against the militant ISIS group, but was cautious when asked to respond to growing accusations of human rights violations committed by Egyptian security forces.

Graham said Sisi was "the right man at the right time" to lead Egypt as the ISIS group had become a "nightmare" for the entire region.

"There is a desire that Daesh be destroyed in Sinai... the president has expressed his desire to destroy Daesh," Graham said using the Arabic acronym for the ISIS, which is spearheading an insurgency in the restive peninsula.

When asked about the human rights situation in Egypt, Graham offered a response in stark contrast to the present US administration, which has regularly criticized reported human rights abuses in Egypt.

"I understand that the country is a new democracy and coming out of chaos," told reporters in Cairo.

"He (Sisi) has to balance security with the rule of law... there are elements that come to Egypt to disrupt the nation and there are many people coming here to help you. Don't treat them all in the same way," the senator added.

Rights groups have accused Egypt's security services of carrying out illegal detentions, forced disappearances

of activists and torture of detainees since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in July 2013.

After his removal, a police crackdown targeting Mursi's supporters has left hundreds dead and tens of thousands jailed. Hundreds more have been sentenced to death including Mursi himself.

In March, US Secretary of State John Kerry said there was a "deterioration in the human rights situation in Egypt in recent weeks and months".

Read more: US Republicans back Egypt’s Sisi despite rights concerns - Al Arabiya English