Egyptian Elections 2018: New candidate to run against Sisi amid calls to boycott

MENA

Published: 2018-01-29 16:51

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 20:13


Moussa will stand against Sisi in the presidential race. (Erem News)
Moussa will stand against Sisi in the presidential race. (Erem News)

The Head of Al-Ghad liberal party, Moussa Moustafa Moussa, announced he will run for the Egyptian presidential elections few hours before nominations closed on Monday.

"I am finishing up with some remaining matters and will then go to the National Election Authority to present my candidacy," Mussa told AFP on Monday morning.

He said he collected more than the necessary endorsements to stand, as according to the Egyptian law, any candidate must collect endorsements from at least 20 lawmakers, or at least 25,000 registered voters, with a minimum of 1,000 signatures from each of at least 15 provinces.

Moussa’s announcement made him the second candidate to stand against Abdel Fattah Sisi, the current President who is widely expected to win the elections.

The Egyptian rights lawyer, Khaled Ali, announced last week his withdrawal from the race amid doubts whether he was forced to quit or not.

This comes after the retired Egyptian General Sami Anan was detained few hours following his announcement to run for elections.


READ MORE: Egyptian Elections: Sami Anan arrested, contradicted news about Khaled Ali's withdrawal 


Leaders of the opposition in Egypt called for boycotting the country’s elections after all real candidates trying to stand against President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi were arrested, prosecuted or intimidated out of the race.

In a joint statement, opposition main figures said that Egyptians should stay away from the polls to protest the government’s actions that prevented “any fair competition in the upcoming elections”.

“We call on our great people to boycott these elections entirely, and to not recognise anything that results from it,” the statement said.

The first round of the elections in Egypt will take place between March 26 and 28, and the second round between April 24 and 26.