The presidential election in Egypt: a one-way race
Egyptians living abroad began voting on Friday in their country’s presidential election, a vote in which President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi is the clear favorite and after which he could begin a third term.
This early election is organized over three days, in 121 countries around the world, before voting opens in Egypt on December 10, against a backdrop of economic crisis.
The largest Egyptian communities are found in Saudi Arabia, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
In Egypt, voting will take place from December 10 to 12 and the winner will be announced on December 18.
Aside from Mr. Sissi, there are three candidates running without much popular support: Farid Zahran, head of the Egyptian Democratic and Social Party, Abdel-Sanad Yamama, head of the century-old Wafd party, and Hazem Omar, head of the People’s Republican Party.
Hisham Kassem, leader of the liberal opposition, was sentenced to six months in prison in October, preventing him from participating in the campaign.
Former MP Ahmed al-Tantawi aroused the hopes of the opposition for a few months before being forced to abandon his candidacy for the presidency on October 13.
His campaign manager said he had gathered “only 14,000 signatures” from citizens out of the 25,000 needed to appear on the ballot. Several of his supporters testified that they were attacked by thugs or prevented from recording their signatures by officials they said were on orders from those in power.
Egypt’s short-lived presidential candidate, along with several members of his campaign, are due in court next month, accused of falsifying election documents.
President Sissi collected 424 signatures of deputies (out of 596 seats) and 1.135 million signatures of citizens.
The economic issue will be the main issue in the vote in a country where two-thirds of Egypt’s 105 million people live below or just above the poverty line.
Inflation is at 40%, the 50% devaluation has led to rising prices of goods in recent months – almost all imported into Egypt – and the recent bonuses and increases announced by the president for civil servants and retirees have not. had little effect.
The two previous presidential elections were won with more than 96% by Mr. Sissi, a former marshal who came to power in 2013 by overthrowing Islamist Mohamed Morsi.
In this context, it is difficult to imagine a different outcome to this presidential election. The other candidates do not appear to have the popular support needed to seriously challenge President Sissi. However, the priority of voters will certainly be the economic question, with the hope of seeing concrete measures to improve their living conditions.
It remains to be seen whether President Sissi will be able to meet voters’ expectations and find solutions to address the economic challenges facing the country. Egypt needs strong leadership and a clear vision to overcome these challenges and provide a better future for its people. The responsibility for choosing the right leader now falls to Egyptian voters.
In conclusion, although the presidential election in Egypt appears to be heading towards a landslide victory for President Sissi, attention must be focused on the economic issues that concern the population. The real challenge for the future president will be to address these concerns and implement concrete reforms to revive the economy and improve the living conditions of Egyptians.