Egypt's President to Run for Third Term

Facts

• Egyptian Pres. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi confirmed on Monday that he will run for a third term amid complaints from opposition parties that voters are facing obstacles attempting to register their support for other candidates.¹
• Egypt will conduct presidential elections over three days, between Dec. 10 and 12, with a runoff scheduled from Jan. 8 to 10 if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote.²
• Sisi, who led the military overthrow of the elected president in 2013, has ruled the country since 2014. A third term would allow him to rule until 2030.³
• In a speech rebuffing his critics, namely regarding his economic policies, Sisi said, “If the price of the nation’s progress and prosperity is to go hungry and thirsty, then let us not eat or drink.' Sisi has consistently blamed the country's economic crisis on COVID and the war in Ukraine.⁴
• Meanwhile, Ahmed al-Tantawi — the most prominent opposition figure who calls himself a 'rule of law' candidate — has accused Sisi of trying to stifle his campaign.⁵
• This comes after the US, a traditional Egyptian ally, threatened to block military aid to Egypt — which runs at $1.3B annually — if Cairo doesn't prevent alleged human rights violations.⁴

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Associated Press, ³Africanews, ⁴The national and ⁵Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Dailynewsegypt. Egypt's upcoming election will be free and fair, as Sisi seeks to rule with popular legitimacy — if he doesn't have it, he will step aside. Though critics of the president unfairly point to the government's economic policies as the cause of the country's crisis, it's quite clear that the pandemic, which hit the tourism sector hard, and the war in Ukraine, which affected the country's exports and imports, are really to blame. This presidential election is a significant step towards building a modern civil democratic state.
• Narrative B, as provided by World socialist web site. Besides the fact that Egypt is a repressive dictatorship under Sisi, it's poorly run and its economic prospects are only declining. Inflation has been raging as food prices skyrocket. Sisi has been making desperate moves to fix the nightmare he has created, such as looking for foreign investment. However, the writing is on the wall: the future of Egypt under Sisi isn't bright, especially given the growing frustration of the Gulf states. Egypt can move forward only under new leadership free of the constricting influence of the military.