2023-09-11 19:44:25
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) – The parties of the civil democratic movement in Egypt said, on Monday, that the country “will not tolerate” a third presidential term for President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, warning that delaying “opening a safe path for change” would “put Egypt… “On the verge of explosion.”
In a statement, the Civil Democratic Movement, which includes 12 opposition parties, said that “change has become an urgent necessity,” adding that “a deepening crisis that the nation is going through… has left Egyptians suffering a harsh daily life that has become unbearable for the majority of them.”
The statement added, “These conditions are the basic reality in the Egyptian political scene now, and belittling and mitigating them is a belittling of the fate of our country and an authoritarian acceptance of the oppression that millions of citizens are experiencing.”
The Civil Movement said that it “views the upcoming presidential elections “as an opportunity for peaceful and safe change to alleviate the suffering of millions, recharge the energies of hope, and stop the spiral of decline and deterioration,” stressing its “decisive adherence to truly competitive elections between a number of serious candidates and complete impartiality of state institutions.”
The movement pointed out that “the indicators that we see so far are disappointing for this process that we want. The rough treatment of everyone who runs for the presidential elections and the frenzied media campaigns against every activity carried out by the opposition to discuss election arrangements indicate that there is a will in Egypt to run previously engineered presidential elections that will enable the current president.” It seems that he intends to run for his third term, which Egypt will not tolerate now.”
The movement went on to say, “In light of the deepening economic crisis, there is no alternative but for the active parties to be responsible and courageous enough to open a safe path for change, and delaying its implementation will not benefit society or the state, but rather puts Egypt on the brink of explosion.”
The Civil Movement considered that “in order for democratic systems not to suffer from stagnation and hardening of the arteries, change through the ballot boxes and with free and broad popular participation in choosing the ruler from among more than one competitor is the natural and safe approach to renewing bloodshed that leads to continuous development, and at the same time it is a life necessity for preserving… Security and stability of the country.”
According to the statement, the Civil Movement has not settled on a specific candidate to support in the presidential race, despite its meeting with the potential presidential candidate, former head of the Karama Party, Ahmed Tantawi, explaining that it is still studying who it will support in the elections if “guarantees” are available.
The heads of traditional parties, who had previously expressed their support for Sisi, had announced their intention to run against him, in a move whose seriousness is questioned by observers.
The movement’s statement comes amid increasing momentum of talk about the presidential elections, the date of which has not yet been officially determined, while expectations prevail that they will be held at the end of this year or at the beginning of 2024. At a time when the country is facing a stormy economic crisis, the most prominent manifestation of which is the shortage of foreign exchange as a result of the exit of indirect foreign investments. After the increase in interest rates globally, and the decline in the purchasing power of Egyptians with the rise in inflation and the decline in the value of the Egyptian pound against the dollar. While the government blames the Corona pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Sisi has not yet officially announced his candidacy, but some parties have begun to announce that they are coordinating their efforts to support him running again.
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