bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi announced Monday his candidacy for a third term in office, ahead of December elections he is widely expected to win.
“As I have responded to the people’s call before, I heed the call now and announce my intention to run and complete the dream in a new presidential term,” Sisi, 68, told a cheering crowd in Egypt’s new capital – the crowning jewel of a megaproject in the desert east of Cairo.
State-aligned television showed thousands of people celebrating the announcement in ready-built stages across the country.
Earlier on Monday, rallies were held in Cairo calling for Sisi to declare his candidacy.

“There is no one better for the future,” said Hassan Afifi, a teacher who escorted a bus full of his students to a rally in western Cairo.
Sisi urged Egyptians to head to the polls on December 10-12 “even if not to vote for me”.
US approves most Egypt military aid, despite human rights concerns
The president, whose security forces have been accused of harassing and detaining opponents, applauded other candidates and hailed “a real beginning to vibrant political life full of pluralism.”
A year after deposing Islamist president Mohammed Mursi, Sisi won 96 per cent of the vote in 2014.
Four years later, he scored a 97-per cent victory against one of his own supporters, after more prominent candidates were sidelined or arrested.
This time, as Egyptians grow increasingly frustrated with an unrelenting economic crisis, presidential hopefuls have emerged from the woodwork of an opposition decimated by Sisi’s decade-long crackdown on dissent.
A handful of party leaders have said they had already gathered the necessary 20 nominations from parliament.
Another challenger, former parliamentarian Ahmed al-Tantawi, has been trying to rally popular support on the campaign trail.
Without parliamentary backing, the 44-year-old will need to collect 25,000 nominations from Egyptians across at least 15 governorates by October 14 to be eligible.
If elected, Sisi’s third term would be his last, according to a constitutional amendment he pushed through in 2019.

It also lengthened presidential terms from four to six years.
In the hours leading up to Sisi’s announcement, patriotic music blared from speakers across the capital, where convoys of buses shrink-wrapped with campaign slogans blocked major streets.
The sails of boats on the Nile river were emblazoned with Sisi’s photo and slogans including “yes to stability”, the correspondents added.
Presidential hopeful Tantawi has repeatedly accused the regime of harassing and detaining his supporters, preventing them from filing nominations and tapping his phone.
Minister invites Hong Kong leader to Egypt, touts opportunities tied to Suez Canal
Tantawi has branded himself the “rule of law” candidate, as his campaign posts videos of him accompanying supporters to registry offices.
“In the end, they will not be able to say ‘sorry, you don’t have enough nominations’,” he told supporters Sunday.
In a video shared by Tantawi’s campaign, dozens chanted “bread, freedom, social justice” – the popular rallying cry of the 2011 revolution that ousted longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak.
Under Sisi, a former army chief who has overseen a crackdown jailing tens of thousands of dissidents, protests have been banned.

Sisi announced his candidacy at the end of a three-day conference entitled “Story of a Nation”, where remarks he made earlier ruffled feathers among Egyptians, buckling under the weight of record-breaking 39.7-per cent inflation.
“If construction, development and progress come at the cost of hunger and deprivation, never say ‘we would rather eat’,” Sisi said Sunday.
In an apparent veiled reference to China, he cited a country that became a “great power” after “25 million people died of hunger”.
Some reacted on social media, where formerly outspoken Egyptians have learned to self-censor after years of arrests related to online content.
“I’m in shock, usually we get electoral promises, even if they’re fake, but now he’s offering us a famine,” one user wrote.
How Brics expansion could help boost China’s influence in Africa
On Sunday, Sisi sought to discredit the opposition, arguing he could “destroy the country … by handing out cannabis, 1,000 Egyptian pounds (US$32) and Tramadol to 100,000 poor people”.
Even before the current crisis, a third of Egypt’s 105-million-strong population had lived below the poverty line, with another third vulnerable to falling into poverty, according to the World Bank.
Experts say Sisi is set on securing a third term before enacting a new currency devaluation that would further obliterate Egyptians’ purchasing power.
The upcoming election was initially expected in the spring of 2024.
The pound has lost half its value since March 2022, shooting prices upward in the import-dependent economy.
Foreign debt has soared to a record high of $165.4 billion this year, which experts say have been used to fund “vanity” megaprojects including roads, bridges and the new US$58-billion capital.
The Egyptian government is now the second most at risk of defaulting on its debt, after war-torn Ukraine, according to Bloomberg.


Biden arrives in Angola for his long-awaited, first presidential sub-Saharan Africa visit

China’s Meituan to expand Keeta food delivery service to more Middle East cities, sources say

What Xi’s flying visit to Morocco means for China’s EV industry

5 more people rescued after tourist yacht sank in Egypt’s Red Sea, 7 still missing

Egypt

Egypt’s Sisi announces run for third term

Supporters of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi participate in a rally to back his candidacy in the country’s upcoming presidential election. Photo: EPA-EFE

Supporters of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi celebrate in El Korba Square, after he announced that he will run for a third term in office. Photo; dpa

Convoys of buses shrink-wrapped with campaign slogans blocked major streets. Photo: EPA-EFE

Sailing boats bearing posters of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi on the River Nile. Photo: Reuters

Egyptian minister invites Hong Kong leader John Lee to country, touts investment opportunities tied to Suez Canal during visit to city

Rania Al-Mashat,  the Egyptian international cooperation minister, at the Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout

Cargo ships ply their trade on Egypt’s Suez Canal, a crucial maritime artery that links the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Photo: Shutterstock

WHO recommends malaria vaccine for children, to be rolled out next year

A nurse fills a syringe with malaria vaccine at the Lumumba Sub-County hospital in Kisumu, Kenya. Photo: Reuters 

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, at UN headquarters in New York. Photo: AFP

US approves most Egypt military aid. Rights groups say it sends the wrong message

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi denies there are political prisoners in Egypt. He says stability and security are paramount. Photo: Reuters

Egypt is one of the largest recipients of US military aid, worth almost US$1.3 billion a year. File photo: Reuters

How Egypt and Ethiopia joining Brics could help boost China’s influence in Africa

 A train runs on the Chinese-funded Ethiopia-Djibouti railway. Photo: Xinhua


Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on the sidelines of the Brics summit in Johannesburg. Photo: Xinhua

News

World

Africa

Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, a former army chief, had been widely expected to run again and secure a third term
In recent weeks, supporters have mounted a campaign urging him to stand in the December 10-12 poll


Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, speaking at a televised event on Monday, said his decision came in answer to calls from the nation.


Mohammed Mursi

Egypt’s Sisi announces run for third term

Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, a former army chief, had been widely expected to run again and secure a third term In recent weeks, supporters have mounted a campaign urging him to stand in the December 10-12 poll

Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, a former army chief, had been widely expected to run again and secure a third term

In recent weeks, supporters have mounted a campaign urging him to stand in the December 10-12 poll