Introduction

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who came to power following a military takeover in 2013, announced that he will run for a third term in the upcoming elections scheduled for December.

Election Details

Egypt will hold a presidential election over three days on Dec. 10-12, with a runoff on Jan. 8-10 if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote.

Confirmation of Candidacy

El-Sissi confirmed his candidacy at the end of a three-day national conference called the “Story of Homeland” attended by the country’s leading politicians and broadcast by Egypt’s Extra News television channel, which has close ties to Egyptian security agencies.

Challengers and Support

A handful of politicians have already announced their bids to run for the country’s highest post, but none poses a serious challenge to el-Sissi, who has ruled the country since 2014 and has faced criticism from the West over his country’s human rights record. Among the challengers is Ahmed Altantawy, a former lawmaker and critic of the current government.

Extra News showed thousands of el-Sissi’s supporters gathered on the streets of Cairo on Monday evening, with many waving Egyptian flags. As the conference neared its end, several parliamentarians present stood up and called on el-Sissi to offer his candidacy.

“I promise you, god willing, that it will be an extension of our common quest for the sake of Egypt and its people,” el-Sissi said.

Background and Controversies

El-Sissi, a former defense minister, led the military overthrow of the country’s first democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi in 2013. Since then, authorities have launched a major crackdown on dissent. Thousands of government critics have been silenced or jailed, but also many prominent secular activists, including many of those behind the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Previous Terms and Constitutional Amendments

He was first elected in 2014 and reelected in 2018 for a second four-year term. Constitutional amendments, passed in a referendum in 2019, added two years to his second term, and allowed him to run for a third, six-year term.

Economic Challenges

Egypt has been hit hard by years of austerity, and more recently, the fallout from the war in Ukraine, with its pound losing more than 50% of its value against the dollar in the last 18 months. The country is the world’s largest wheat importer and has traditionally imported most of its grain from Eastern Europe.

Government’s Plans and Projects

Over the three-day conference, el-Sissi touted the government’s plans and projects, while repeatedly demanding that Egyptians must make sacrifices as price hikes continue.

“Don’t you Egyptians dare say you would rather eat than build and progress,” el-Sissi said Sunday. “If the price of the nation’s progress and prosperity is to go hungry and thirsty, then let us not eat or drink.”