Egypt’s Sisi set for new term as Prez

Cairo, Jan. 29: Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al- Sisi looks set to romp to victory in a March presidential election fast becoming a referendum on his first four- year term, despite a last- minute candidate entering the fray on Monday.

The former army chief who toppled his Islamist predecessor in 2013 won 96.9 per cent of the vote in an election the following year, and is setting the stage for a similar performance.

Voting takes place from March 26- 28, and the deadline for nominations was 2: 00 pm ( local time) on Monday.

One last- minute surprise candidate did come forward — the head of Egypt’s liberal Ghad party, Mussa Mustapha Mussa.

But given that he backs the president, his token candidacy would appear meant to ensure that Sisi will not be the only name on the ballot paper.

Sisi has ruled Egypt with an iron fist in a first term that has seen him crack down on an Islamist insurgency and agree to often unpopular economic reforms laid down by the International Monetary Fund.

Before becoming president, he was defence minister and head of the \ army that toppled his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Ironically, he was appointed by the man he ousted, and the crackdown on the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood that followed Morsi’s removal was long and bloody.

Once in power, Sisi methodically torpedoed all opposition and jailed hundreds of opposition members. Ahead of the March election, all potential presidential contenders have either been hobbled or thrown in the towel because they feel the entire process has been rigged. “He wants to be the only candidate in the running,” said Hassan Nafaa, Emeritus professor of political science at Cairo University. Nafaa believes that in this election, Sisi is seeking “a kind of plebiscite and personal endorsement”.

Across the country, electoral posters show only Sisi, and the government has tightened its grip even further on television and the press. — AFP