02 April 2018•Update: 09 April 2018
CAIRO
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was re-elected to a second term in office after presidential polls last week, the official electoral commission said Monday.
Officials announced the results at a news conference in eastern Cairo that was broadcast on state television.
Election commission head Lashin Ibrahim said final results showed al-Sisi won a whopping 97.8 percent of the vote.
Ibrahim put total voter turnout at slightly more than 41 percent, or about 25.75 million registered voters at home and abroad.
Of these, he said, approximately 7.25 percent -- or 1.76 million voters -- cast spoiled or invalid ballots.
Al-Sisi’s sole challenger, Musa Mustafa Musa, the leader of a little-known liberal party, secured just 2.92 percent of the vote, or about 656,000 ballots, according to the electoral commission.
U.S. President Donald Trump called al-Sisi to congratulate him on his re-election, following the official declaration.
"The two leaders affirmed the strategic partnership between the United States and Egypt, and noted that they look forward to advancing this partnership and addressing common challenges," the White House said in a readout of the telephone call.
*Michael Hernandez contributed to this report from Washington
