One month from now, Egyptians will head to the polls to elect their new President. But as the campaigns formally kicked-off at the weekend, all indications point to the victory of the incumbent leader, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi The reason is that the ruling party has no serious challenger.
It is expected that in the contest billed to hold between March 26 and 28, the former Army Chief will face the candidate of the liberal Ghad party, Mussa Mustapha Mussa, in the wake of the resignation or arrest of other potential contenders.
The attempt by a coalition of eight opposition parties and over one hundred public figures to call for a boycott of the election backfired. They called the impending vote a “charade”, pointing out that the government would not guarantee its credibility. But millions of Egyptians do not see it that way, besides the President’s challenger, Mr. Mussa, used to be his supporter. Not many Egyptians know him.
The country’s electoral umpire, the National Election Authority, has urged the media to be “objective” and warned government officials from “trying to influence the outcome of the election, positively or negatively”. Officials of the ruling party have said that campaigners will go from door to door to encourage people to vote.
The main streets of Cairo and other big cities are already donned with campaign banners which highlight the need for President al-Sisi to be re-elected. The former Army chief gained popularity in 2013, when he led the military to oust the country’s first freely elected leader, Mohamed Morsi, who did not hide his zeal to Islamize the country.
Al-Sisi won the 2013 presidential election after security forces dealt with all his Islamist opponents and jailed hundreds of them. This is one of the things his critics hold against him.
A similar episode is playing out now that another presidential contest is imminent. Some notable figures such as Abdel Moneim, Abul Fotouh, a former leading member of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, and former Army Chief of Staff, Sami Anan, have been detained.
