Ex-PM Ahmed Shafiq withdraws from Egyptian presidential election

MENA

Published: 2018-01-07 19:13

Last Updated: 2024-03-29 00:56


Ahmad Shafiq, former Prime Minister in Egypt.
Ahmad Shafiq, former Prime Minister in Egypt.

The Former Egyptian Prime Minister, Ahmed Shafiq, announced on Sunday that he will draw back his decision to run into the Egyptian Presidential elections in 2018.

On his official Twitter account, Shafiq said:

Translation: “I earlier decided on my return to Egypt that I had to reassess my position from running for president, a decision I took when I was in UAE. My stay at the UAE distanced me from closely monitoring the developments and achievements that happened in Egypt.”

“Following my monitoring to what is realistically happening, I’ve realized that I am not the right person to run the state in the upcoming period. Hence, I’ve decided I am not intending to run in Egypt’s presidential elections in 2018.”

The former Egyptian Air Force pilot’s announcement to run into presidential election raised controversy among Egyptians and Arabs, as following his announcement, he confirmed that UAE's government banned him from returning to Egypt.


 Read More: Former Egyptian PM to run for Presidential elections in 2018, UAE bans him from returning to Egypt.


Shortly after he arrived to Egypt, he was announced arrested, which was followed by his remarks saying that he will have the chance to investigate more and see exactly what is needed in Egypt prior his official announcement.

Earlier in 2012, Shafiq had lost the race against Mohamed Morsi in the first election after Egypt’s 2011 uprising, when the Egyptian people toppled former leader Hosni Mubarak.

At the time, Shafiq was forced to resign as prime minister because of his links to the former government of the ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

After his defeat in the elections, Shafiq fled the country, formed an Egyptian political party and led it from abroad.

However, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has not yet announced his candidacy for 2018 Presidential elections, that is expected to be held between February 2018 until May 2018. However, he is widely expected to run for a second term.

Ahmed Shafiq is not the only candidate who drew back his decision to run for elections. Earlier in November 2017, Egyptian human rights lawyer and opposition leader Khaled Ali announced he would challenge President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the 2018 presidential election.

After that, State-owned newspaper published an article about Ali’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, and that he received illegal foreign funding.