CAIRO (Reuters) - President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi cruised towards a landslide election victory against no real opposition but early results showed a lower turnout than the vote that brought him to power in 2014, despite efforts to get more Egyptians to the polls. Critics say austerity and an unprecedented crackdown on dissent have eroded Sisi’s popularity, but supporters say such measures are needed to stabilise the North African country after years of unrest that followed a 2011 popular uprising. Sisi, who as army chief ousted Egypt's first freely elected president -- Islamist Mohamed Morsi -- after mass street protests in 2013, won his first term in 2014 with 96.9 percent of the vote. Authorities have been desperate to ensure a higher turnout this time around as Sisi sees attendance at polls as a referendum on his popularity and seeks a strong mandate to fight militants and push through tough economic reforms. Some 23 million of the 6rcent of the vote, state media reported on Thursday citing preliminary results.0 million registered voters turned out during the three days of polling that ended Wednesday, state-owned newspapers Al-Ahram and Akhbar el-Youm, and the official MENA news agency reported. Image copyright AFP Image caption More people appear to have spoiled their ballots than voted for Moussa Mustafa Moussa

In an attempt to boost turnout on the final day of voting on Wednesday, the election commission kept polling stations open for an extra hour. All serious opposition dropped out the election race earlier this year citing intimidation after the main challenger, another former military chief, was arrested. They said the authorities had "trampled over even the minimum requirements for free and fair elections", stifling basic freedoms and eliminating key challengers.
State media reports preliminary indications incumbent President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has won 90% of the vote with a 41% turnout.