At some polling stations, Sissi campaign workers were asked by voters to stamp cards entitling them to food packages in exchange for voting, said Hassan Hussien, a local journalist who said he witnessed such incidents. One well-known businessman, he added, distributed two chickens to every person who voted.

In other cases, the push was more clandestine. An election observer from a foreign embassy said he witnessed two instances of cash changing hands at polls in central Cairo. “We saw people being passed cash,” said the observer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

A spokesman for Egypt’s electoral commission did not respond to requests for comment.

On Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo tweeted a photo of charge d’affaires Thomas Goldberger with the message: “As Americans we are very impressed by the enthusiasm and patriotism of Egyptian voters.”

That triggered widespread condemnation on social media. “Saying this with no context for the widespread repression that has totally discredited this vote is shameful,” wrote Timothy Kaldas, a political analyst with the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy.

For Wael Eskandar, an activist and blogger, and many other young Egyptians, Western governments are to blame for the sham election because they remained silent about the repression of democracy. Eskandar said those governments have emboldened Sissi, pointing to the continuing sales of arms and surveillance equipment to Egypt.

The Sissi election billboards across the capital, he said, “are a symbol of oppression,” but he’s neither angry at Sissi nor at Egyptians who support Sissi. “I see the faces of Western leaders when I see Sissi’s face all over Tahrir,” Eskandar said.