Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Egypt’s elections find last-minute challenger to Sisi

1236192
1236192
minus
plus

CAIRO: Politician Mousa Mostafa Mousa became just the second candidate eligible to run in Egypt’s upcoming presidential election on Monday, just before a deadline was set to make President Abdel Fattah al Sisi the sole contender after withdrawals and a boycott call.


Several leading opposition figures called on Sunday for a boycott of the March election, citing a wave of repression that has cleared the field of challengers to Sisi and left his top opponent in jail. Former military commander Sisi was elected in 2014, a year after leading the army to oust president Mohamed Mursi.


He is expected to easily win the vote, the third since protests in 2011 unseated long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak. Mousa, who leads the Ghad party, said he had registered his candidacy at the electoral commission after having collected the required number of nomination pledges, submitting his official paperwork just minutes before the final deadline.


Would-be candidates were required to register by 2 pm (12:00 GMT) on Monday after clinching at least 20 nominations from parliament or 25,000 pledges from citizens across the country. Mousa said he had netted 47,000 pledges and the backing of 36 lawmakers.


The electoral commission said last week that Sisi had earned more than one million pledges. Over 500 of parliament’s 595 lawmakers had already pledged support for Sisi.


The vote, slated for March 26-28, has come under heavy criticism from the UN, rights groups, and opposition figures who say its environment has been compromised by intimidation of opposition and a nomination process stacked in favour of the incumbent.


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon