Baku, May 30 (AZERTAC). Egypt was beginning a new era of rule by an ex-military strongman on Thursday after provisional results showed ex-Field Marshal Abdulfattah el-Sisi had romped to victory in the country's hotly-disputed presidential election.Tallies from polling stations reported showed Mr Sisi had won 97 per cent of the vote, according to state media. His single opponent, Hamdeen Sabbahy, who had been urged by supporters to pull out over the conduct of the election, was humiliated, his total outnumbered by that of spoiled ballots.The result was reminiscent of "elections" under President Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown in the Tahrir Square revolution of 2011 after winning 88.6 per cent of the vote in the 2005 poll. Following a low turn-out which forced voting to be extended at the last minute to a third day, the election's legitimacy was challenged by international observers who complained about the one-sided nature of the environment in which the election was held. Democracy International, an independent group which was funded by the US government, said a "disregard for Egyptians' rights and freedoms" had prevented a genuine, democratic election. The European Union observer team's head, Mario David, said the election "fell short of full compliance with applicable international standards". "Notably, the right to vote and the right to stand for all citizens are not fully protected," he said. They did not raise any major challenges to the published figures due to be ratified and formally confirmed next week, but their conclusions will put pressure on western governments continuing to "do business" with the military-backed regime. Even with the extra day, total turn-out was officially put by the polling stations at 46 per cent, lower than the 52 per cent who voted in the last presidential election, won by the now overthrown Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. Diplomats and observers said the desperate attempts by the authorities to increase the legitimacy of the vote had backfired. The political, military and media establishment were keen for Mr Sisi to claim a sweeping popular mandate not just for his rule but for his assault on the Brotherhood and removal of Mr Morsi last year. The Brotherhood has since been banned as a "terrorist" organization. Several other potential opponents joined in a Brotherhood-led boycott. But Mr Sisi and his supporters do have the comfort that the scale of his victory secured him considerably more individual votes than Mr Morsi or any other political force in three years of elections since the 2011 revolution. The results leave little doubt that the country is still strongly polarized between pro- and anti-regime factions. Results from polling stations collated by state media showed Mr Sisi won 97 per cent of the valid votes, to 3 per cent for Mr Sabbahy. Mr Sabbahy's count of just over 750,000 compared to the more than 1 million ballots spoiled, many in conscious protest at the nature of the election. State media has led a wave of mass patriotic cheer-leading for Mr Sisi and the army ever since he overthrew Mr Morsi last July, and in the election campaign television news anchors became emotional. When turn-out proved to be low, some began shouting abuse at the viewers, calling them "traitors" and lacking in gratitude to the man who had "saved" Egypt.