Egyptians Protest Against Al Sisi’s Bid For Third Term (image-instagram/alsisiofficial)
Soon after Egypt President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi announced his bid for a third term in the coming elections, dozens of Egyptians have come down to the streets tearing down and burning the election banners in the coastal city of Marsa Matrouh on Monday night.
Al Sisi confirmed his candidacy during a television speech on Monday evening. This will be his third-term in the office if gets elected. Thousands of supporters gathered at main squares in the city before the announcement, where they waved flags as the giant screens broadcasted the Presidents addressal. While in Marsa Matruh, crowds called out for Al Sisi’s removal. They tore down the banners chanting and some banners burnt, reports The National.
“Burn it down, burn it down”, protesters could be heard saying in the video shared on social media. The video which got widely shared on the social media showed the residents attending a rally organized by Mostaqbal Watan. Mostaqbul Watan is the Egypt”s parliamentry majority party which is created for the sole purpose of backing President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his policies.
The elections will be held over three days from December 10 to 12. Egyptians living abroad will be able to cast their votes on December 1-3. The nominations of the elections are set to take place between 5-14 October.
The Egypt Ministry of Interior issued a statement on their official Facebook page denying the arguments. The ministry claimed that people out in the streets were involved in skirmishes at an arts event.
“A quarrel broke out between some young people in the city of Matruh due to a competition over taking photos with Libyan poets and security forces were deployed to arrest perpetrators,” the statement read.
December election will be crucial for Al Sisi, as the 105 million people are gripped in economic crisis. Adding on to the trouble, the Egyptian pound has lost half its value since March last year and inflation hitting record highs.
Abdel Fattah Al Sisi has been president since 2014, a year after he ousted democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi in a coup. He then won the second term in 2018 with 97 percent of vote against one candidate, after all the significant opposition candidates were either arrested or withdrawn from the election, says Middle East Eye.
