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Egyptians were promised a day off during the second election day and plenty of song and dance. So heavy was the presence of paid bands and dancers, that some commentators noted that the number of those who were employed to provide an atmosphere of entertainment near polling stations outnumbered the actual voters.

a song by a popular Emirati singer Hussain al-Jesmi calling on Egyptians to vote was welcomed by the pro-military media, which also made it sure it was more than sufficiently aired

groups that boycotted the elections felt compelled to make parodies of the song using different lyrics

several journalists have been detained, arrested or obstructed from reporting at polling stations in several governorates.

On the first day of voting, the syndicate reported as many as 19 similar violations, most of which were identified in the last hours of the polling day, Al-Ahram's Arabic news website reported.

The Sunni Muslim extremist group that has taken over the city considers journalists among its worst enemies.

Unlucky applicants have no choice but to go back to Mosul or they must search for shelter in the nearest camp for displaced persons. In this shelter, out in the open, there is no protection against the high summer temperatures, or the dust or the noise of babies crying. The sick and elderly are sleeping on the dirt and local and international photographers eagerly take their pictures.

I show him my press credentials. But even then he won’t let me into the Iraqi Kurdish region. “We have a new policy,” he explains. “You won’t be able to get in unless you are accompanied by your family, no matter what your profession.” I saw dozens of families entering the region; none of them plan to return home again in the near future.

While the economic crisis related to the fall of oil revenues has caused political and social tensions, the algerian authorities are showing increasing intolerance towards criticism, already under attack since the start of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s fourth term in April 2014.

Hassina Oussedik, director of Amnesty International’s chapter in algeria, says the attacks on freedom of expression have been "constant". "In 2015, not a month has passed without witnessing cases of people being oppressed as they try to express themselves peacefully. The authorities rely on poorly formulated or ambiguous laws to arrest people," she told Middle East Eye. "They use provisions of the penal code that criminalise 'contempt', 'insult' or 'defamation' aimed against representatives of the state and other institutions in order to restrict freedom of expression, including humour, expression on the internet and on the street."

But an Algerian police officer, in charge of monitoring public demonstrations, said claims of repression were excessive and defended his activities."Repression? Dictatorship? Censorship? All of this is much exaggerated and is far from the truth," he told MEE. "If we did not do our job of monitoring and surveillance, Islamists and terrorists would feel omnipotent. In the 90s, this led us to chaos! Is it normAl to insult the state, the president, the police or the army with impunity?"