Egypt extends vote after low turnout

Egypt extended voting into a third day Wednesday in a presidential election seen as a plebiscite on the former army chief, after turnout fell below that in the poll won by the Islamist leader he ousted.
The move raised further question marks about the democratic credentials of an election already marred by a deadly crackdown on the main opposition since last year.
Electoral officials said over the scheduled two days of polling Monday and Tuesday just 37 percent of eligible voters cast their ballot -- well below the nearly 52 percent who voted in the 2012 election that brought president Mohamed Morsi to power.
The low turnout came despite a personal appeal from retired field marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who had been seeking vindication from the voters for his overthrow of Egypt's only freely elected president last July after a single turbulent year in power, according to AFP.