Terrorism unlikely to affect Egypt’s election, Sisi expected to make easy win
Terrorist threats in Egypt are not expected to affect the country’s presidential elections on March 26-28, in which incumbent President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi is expected to secure an easy win for a second four-year term due to the lack of strong challengers.
As the countdown is ticking for the presidential polls, a car bomb attack on Saturday targeted a convoy of the security chief of the country’s northern coastal province of Alexandria, killing two policemen and wounding at least four others.
Egypt has been suffering a wave of terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of police and soldiers since the military ousted former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule and his now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.
The Sinai-based branch of the Islamic State regional terrorist group has claimed responsibility for most of the terror attacks in Egypt over the past few years.
Terrorists in Egypt first targeted the restive North Sinai province bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip before they later expanded to reach other provinces including the capital Cairo and started to hit the Coptic minority via church bombings and shootings.
The terrorists did not stop at targeting security men and Copts. They further targeted a mosque in North Sinai’s Arish city in November, killing at least 310 Muslim worshippers and injuring more than 120 others, which marks the deadliest terror attack and the first against a mosque in Egypt’s modern history.
The Egyptian forces killed hundreds of terrorists and arrested thousands of suspects during the country’s anti-terror war declared by President Sisi, the army chief then, following Morsi’s ouster.
Sisi came to office in mid-2014 through a landslide victory in an election held a year after he ousted Morsi.
The incumbent president’s sole rival in the race this time is little known politician Moussa Mostafa Moussa, chairman of the liberal Ghad Party, after a couple of possible strong challengers either withdrew or were disqualified for violations.
Sisi’s posters and banners of different sizes can be seen everywhere on the streets, squares, buildings, store fronts, main bridges and bus stations.
He said in a recent speech that he wished there had been more competitors in the presidential polls.
Under Sisi, Egypt in late 2016 started a strict three-year economic reform program based on austerity measures, fuel and energy subsidy cuts and tax hikes, which led to nationwide rising prices.
Egypt’s reform plan, which started with a full local currency floatation, has been encouraged by a $12-billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, half of which has already been delivered to the most populous Arab country.
“Sisi also took massive steps in construction and economic reform that we hope they will continue and become even better. I believe the Egyptian people are aware of that,” said Gamal Salama, dean of the political science department of Suez University.
Security and stability in Egypt have greatly improved under Sisi following years of political chaos and relevant security challenges, despite a declining wave of terrorism that the Egyptian military and security forces are fighting.
“Egyptians in general believe that the current regime rescued them from similar chaos that happened in Syria, Libya and Yemen,” said Saeed al-Lawindi, a researcher at Cairo-based state-run AlAhram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. The real desired purpose of a successful election in Egypt is the country’s stability, he asserted. “Taking part in the vote means saying ‘yes’ for Egypt’s security and stability.”