Thousands rally in Egypt urging President el-Sisi to run for third term

Thousands of Egyptians gathered on Monday to call on President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, who has been in power since the ousting of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in 2013, to run for a third term in the upcoming elections scheduled for December. 

The country is currently grappling with a severe economic crisis.

Since morning, thousands of el-Sisi's supporters have flocked to city squares in Cairo, where platforms were set up and banners reading "Yes to Stability" were displayed. Large portraits of the Egyptian President were also hung, even on small pleasure boats on the Nile.

Officially, the former army general has not yet declared his candidacy. However, amid claims by opposition figures that they are facing obstacles, el-Sisi's supporters took to the streets to demand his nomination.

One participant in these demonstrations, Hassan Afifi, a teacher who arrived on a bus with his students, said, "We all came out to support President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi and his major projects. There is no one better than him for the country's future."

In 2014 and 2018, el-Sisi won with 96% and 97% of the votes, respectively, against weak opposition due to repression or formality. In 2018, the main competitor to the Egyptian President at the time declared his support for him.

This year, in contrast to the previous two elections, several personalities, including four party leaders, have announced their intention to run for the elections. Close associates of three of them claim to have already obtained endorsements from 20 deputies in parliament, the minimum required by law for candidacy.

However, one candidate has chosen a different path: Ahmed el-Tantawi. This former MP (44 years old) decided to collect popular endorsements to support his candidacy.

According to the law, el-Tantawi needs 25,000 endorsements from 15 governorates to fulfill the requirements for his presidential candidacy. For a week now, el-Tantawi has been touring the country, encouraging his supporters to go to the real estate offices to issue the required official endorsements.

His campaign announces every day that his supporters are deliberately being prevented from obtaining endorsements for various reasons, such as computer malfunctions at times and a lack of time by employees at other times.


AFP