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Egypt's political parties, religious figures congratulate president-elect El-Sisi On Tuesday evening, the Presidential Elections Commission officially declared Egypt's new president: former army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi with 96.91% of valid votes
Egypt's political parties, religious figures and state institutions have extended their congratulations and good wishes to president-elect Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi for his sweeping electoral victory. On Tuesday evening, the Presidential Elections Commission (PEC) pronounced former military chief El-Sisi Egypt's new president, confirming that he won 23.78 million votes (96.91 percent of the valid ballots) in the 26-28 May election. El-Sisi's sole contender, leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, collected a modest 757,511 of the votes (3.9 percent). The turnout was 47.5 percent, declared the PEC. Political parties, state institutions The Conference Party, founded by Egypt's Mubarak-era foreign minister Amr Moussa, extended its good wishes to El-Sisi, Al-Ahram's Arabic news website reported. The party's head, Omar El-Mokhtar Semeda congratulated El-Sisi on the “trust he has received [from the people] in a fair election, that proved to the entire world that Egyptians are capable of making miracles.” Secretary-general of the ultra-conservative Salafist Nour Party, Galal Morra, congratulated El-Sisi on his win and the Egyptian people on their second vote in the context of the roadmap. The roadmap was implemented following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. It aimed to direct Egypt back to a democratic path through three balloting milestones: a referendum on the amended constitution -- held in January -- the freshly concluded presidential elections and the parliamentary elections yet to be held. According to Al-Ahram's Arabic news website, Morra has also called on the Egyptian people to stand hand in hand with all state institutions to bring Egypt back to the rank of secure and stable nations. As it congratulated the president-elect, the liberal Free Egyptians Party -- founded by business tycoon Naguib Sawiris -- stressed that it hopes “[El-Sisi] will regain Egypt's Arab, regional and international role”. Meanwhile, speaking in a televised interview to Sada Al-Balad satellite channel, Abdel-Nasser Qandil of the leftist Tagammu Party described El-Sisi's electoral victory as a reflection of “unprecedented national unity”. On behalf of Egypt's military, Egypt's army chief and defence minister General Sedky Sobhi wished El-Sisi “good luck in advancing Egypt and its great people,” the same source reported. Sobhi replaced El-Sisi following the latter's resignation ahead of the presidential elections. Head of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation Gebaly El-Meraghy said Egypt's workers appreciate El-Sisi's role in shouldering the country's responsibility at this critical junction of the nation's history, describing him as the national hero who led the 30 June 2013 revolution. Religious figures Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church -- which represents the majority of Egyptian Christians -- the Roman Orthodox and the Catholic churches have all extended their congratulations to El-Sisi. Pope Tawadros II, head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church, congratulated El-Sisi on his win, describing it as the fruit of the people's trust and an indication of clear popular will, Al-Ahram's Arabic news website reported. Tawadros prayed God to support El-Sisi in overcoming the challenges facing the nation and fulfilling the hopes and ambitions of the Egyptian people in building a better future. Congratulating El-Sisi for the country's top post, Ahmed El-Tayyeb, head of Al-Azhar institution – the world's highest seat of Sunni Islam – prayed he be granted “good luck in leading the great Egypt towards a better future.” Meanwhile, Egypt's Minister of Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar said Egyptians elected El-Sisi as a way to “repay the debt”, since he risked his life for the sake of the nation, Al-Ahram's Arabic news website reported. Mokhtar said he hoped El-Sisi's term heralds an era of progress, renaissance, and the fulfilment of a decent livelihood marked with dignity for all Egyptians, at home and abroad. Egypt's interim president Adly Mansour, along with his cabinet, is expected to resign following El-Sisi's inauguration. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/102864.aspx
