Cairo: Egypt’s powerful Defence Minister Abdul Fattah Al Sissi has reshuffled top army commanders, days before he is expected to announce that he will run for president.
The shake-up, announced Monday, has seen Major-General Ahmad Wasfi leaving his post as commander of the Second Field Army to become chief of the Military Training Authority.
Maj Gen Mustafa Al Sharif, who was director of the army’s Officers Affairs Directorate, has been appointed assistant Defence Minister, while Maj Gen Mohammad Arafat, who served as commander of the Military Southern Zone, becomes chief of the Army Inspection Authority. Some other commanders have been replaced.
Close sources have downplayed the political implications of the shake-up.
“This move is natural as some army commanders have reached the age of retirement,” said Saif Al Yazal, an ex-army general and head of the state-run Al Jumhuria Centre for Strategic Studies.
“The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces will meet next week to discuss nominees for the post of the defence minister after Field Marshal Abdul Fattah Al Sissi resigns to nominate himself for presidency,” Al Yazal told the Egyptian private Al Nahar TV.
Al Sissi, 59, is widely tipped to win the presidential elections set for May. He became popular and well-liked by many Egyptians last July when he led the overthrow of Islamist president Mohammad Mursi following massive protests against his one-year rule.
Egypt has been on tenterhooks for months now as regards Al Sissi’s presidential run, with the strongman keep the nation guessing.
Earlier this month, he sent his clearest signal yet that he will contest, saying he could not turn his back “on what the majority of the people want”. He is yet to officially say he will run.
However, Al Sissi will have to vacate his military post before throwing his hat in the ring.
Only leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi, who came third in the 2012 presidential polls, has officially announced he will run for top office. Sabahi has the backing of young revolutionaries who were disillusioned with Mursi’s rule and are now against the military-backed interim leadership, which they accuse of cracking down on political dissent.
Former chief of the army staff Sami Anan last week announced that he was dropping out of the presidential race, making Al Sissi the only contender from the military establishment.
Demonised by Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, Al Sissi is seen by his backers as able to reinvigorate economy and bring back stability and security, which have deteriorated since a 2011 uprising forced long-standing president Hosni Mubarak out of power.
