Egyptians vote in second day of presidential election

Egyptians were voting today on the second day of the presidential election which is set to deliver an easy win for incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who is firmly in power since 2013 in the largest Arab nation.

There are few doubts that President Sisi, 63, will win a second term after most challengers withdrew. The only other candidate is the little-known centrist politician and al Ghad party chief Moussa Mostafa Moussa.

The first day of the three-day election witnessed a remarkable turnout across the Egyptian governorates, Chief of the Egyptian cabinet's operation room Ali Haridi was quoted as saying by the state-run news agency MENA.

Army and security troops were deployed across the country to secure the polling stations, while delegates of the two presidential candidates are employed in the polling stations to ensure the safety of ballot boxes.

The Cabinet's central operations room opened early today to follow up the voting process in the Egyptian governorates. The room is contacting governors through video conference to receive any updates about the voting process.

The governorates of Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Sharqia and North Sinai witnessed a high turnout on the first day of election, the National Elections Authority (NEA) spokesman Mahmoud el-Sherif said.

Sisi overthrew Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in 2013 following mass protests against his rule. He then won a landslide in the 2014 presidential election.

About 60 million people are eligible to vote in the election spread over March 26, 27 and 28. There are 13,687 polling stations across Egypt.

The result is expected to be announced on April 2.

President Sisi's rival Moussa Mostafa Moussa, a longtime supporter of the president, emerged as a last-minute challenger.

The interior ministry also launched a hotline to receive calls from old people who want to cast their votes.