Trying to Boost Egypt's Turnout

When you have effectively rigged an electoral system, many people won't bother to vote:

Egypt’s presidential election was extended for a third day on Tuesday, in an effort to boost low voter turnout.

The move followed what election monitors, local media and political observers described as a lacklustre showing in a poll that was virtually certain to make former military chief Abdel Fattah El Sisi the next president.

Mr El Sisi’s campaign had hoped for a high turnout to add legitimacy to his rise to power after he played a leading role in the removal of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi following vast anti-government rallies last summer...

Election officials warned yesterday that they would impose fines of $72 (Dh 264) – a significant sum for many Egyptians – on abled-bodied voters who did not cast ballots.

Voting was extended by an extra hour to 10pm and the government announced that the second day of the election would be a public holiday to enable the 5.5 million government workers more time to cast ballots.

This whole process probably seems especially dull after a couple of years of real elections.