Egypt’s leader accused of poor economic policies
Cairo – Some of the people who helped propel Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah alSisi to power are calling for his replacement in an election next year, a sign of a shift in the still widespread view that he is a force for stability.
Although the former military commander has yet to declare he will run in the June 2018 election, only two people have aired the idea of challenging him and even they say al-Sisi is likely to win, aided by a crackdown on his opponents.
But the criticism in recent months from several of alSisi’s staunchest former allies of his handling of the economy, security and a territorial dispute is striking in a country where fear of turmoil is another factor stifling dissent.
“He must go,” Hazim Abdelazim, a leading figure in al-Sisi’s official 2014 presidential campaign, said.
“He wasn’t honest. He didn’t respect the law or constitution. He has drowned the country in debt, and he had given up land.”
The presidency did not respond to a request for comment.
His decision last year to hand two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, which showered Egypt with billions of dollars of aid, was seen by many Egyptians as an affront to national sovereignty. The plan prompted rare protests and has since become mired in legal challenges.
Closer to home, the population is struggling with rampant inflation and persistent and deadly Islamist attacks which the government says justify its jailing of political opponents and activists and closing of critical media.
Al-Sisi won an election by a landslide in 2014.