Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt‘s President, has thrown his hat into the ring for a third term in office, formally announcing his candidacy for the December elections, where he is seen as the favourite candidate.
‘As I have responded to the people’s call before, I heed the call now and announce my intention to run and complete the dream in a new presidential term,’ Sisi, who is 68 years old, delivered his speech to an elated gathering in Egypt’s modern capital, the jewel of a colossal desert development project located to the east of Cairo.
On state-controlled television, footage captured thousands of people rejoicing at the news on pre-prepared stages spread across the country.
Earlier in the day on Monday, protests were staged in Cairo, calling on Sisi to confirm his candidacy.
‘There is no one better for the future,’ said Hassan Afifi, a teacher who escorted a bus full of his students to a rally in western Cairo.
Sisi urged Egyptians to head to the polls on December 10-12 ‘even if not to vote for me’.
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Despite allegations of his security forces harassing and imprisoning political rivals, the president lauded other candidates and described it as the authentic beginning of a lively political landscape with true pluralism.
After the deposition of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, Sisi went on to win an astonishing 96 percent of the vote in the 2014 election, just one year later.
After a four-year interval, he attained a staggering 97-percent victory over one of his own supporters, with more prominent contenders either sidelined or apprehended.
In the present circumstances, as Egyptians grapple with a relentless economic crisis, candidates for the presidency are emerging from the fringes of an opposition that has been all but dismantled during Sisi’s ten-year campaign against dissent.
A small group of party leaders has confirmed they’ve obtained the needed 20 nominations from parliament.
Another aspirant, former parliamentarian Ahmed al-Tantawi, has been attempting to rally public backing while on his campaign journey.
In the absence of parliamentary endorsement, the 44-year-old contender must secure 25,000 nominations from individuals spanning at least 15 governorates by October 14 to meet the eligibility criteria.