Egyptians begin three days of voting on Monday to elect a new president in an election expected to produce a landslide for the sitting president.
There are few doubts that incumbent Abdul Fattah al-Sisi will win after most opposition candidates withdrew.
The only other candidate is little-known centrist politician Mousa Mostafa Mousa, reports the BBC.
But Mousa is known to be a supporter of the current leader, and has said he supports Sisi’s re-election.
Egypt, population 84 million, is the largest Arab country and has played a central role in Middle Eastern politics in modern times.
Seven candidates initially put themselves forward for the presidency but the majority of these have withdrawn from the race.
Human rights lawyer Khalid Ali and former Prime Minister Ahmad Shafiq both withdrew, citing intimidation.
Former chief of staff in the Egyptian army, Sami Anan, was detained in January after announcing his intention to run.
He was widely considered to be the last high-profile challenger to the president.
It led some opposition figures to call for a boycott of the vote but Sisi’s campaign spokesman has said no candidates have been prevented from running.
The authorities have been encouraging voter participation and buses with loudspeakers drove through the capital Cairo playing songs urging people to turn out and vote.
Sisi has been in power since 2013 since leading a military coup that ousted Mohammed Morsi from power. He then won a landslide in the 2014 presidential election.
His supporters say his first term has brought stability to a country that has been rocked by unrest since 2011.
Egypt has witnessed the overthrow of two presidents since that year’s Arab Spring protests.
But some critics have pointed to the controversial build-up to the vote and the lack of opposition.
It is expected that Sisi will win a second term comfortably but turnout figures are the main focus for many due to the calls for an opposition boycott.
Ahead of the vote, the Egyptian interior ministry said police had killed six militants suspected of being behind a failed attempt to assassinate a security chief.
General Mostafa al-Nemr escaped unhurt when a bomb that was left under a car in Alexandria exploded as he drove past. Two police officers were killed in the attack.
In a statement, the ministry said it had tracked down a cell belonging to the Hasam movement and the militants were killed during an exchange of fire.
