Cairo: Egypt on Monday said it would hold a presidential election in December, less than four months before President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi’s current term ends.
The election will be held in Egypt over three straight days beginning on December 10, 11 and 12, the National Election Authority, a judicial commission in charge of the electoral process, said.
Egyptians living abroad will cast their ballots over three days starting December 1.
Eligible candidates are required to be endorsed by 20 lawmakers, or by 25,000 voters in at least 15 of Egypt’s 27 governorates. Campaign will start on November 9.
The final result will be announced on December 18. But in case there is a run-off vote, it will be held on January 5, 6 and 7 for Egyptian expatriates and on January 8,9 and 10 in Egypt.
Al Sissi has not yet said he will seek a new term in office. Several politicians, however, announced their intentions to vie for the post.
They include head of the liberal Al Wafd Party Abdul Sanad Yamma; Fouad Badawi, a member of the same party; Hazem Omar, the head of the People’s Republican Party; Ahmed Al Tantawi, an ex-head of the leftist Karama Party; Jameela Esmail; the chairwoman of the Constitution Party; and Farid Zahran, the leader of the Egyptian Democratic Social Party..
Under constitutional amendments approved in a 2019 referendum, the presidential term was extended from four years to six.
These amendments also allow Al Sissi, who took office in 2014, to stand for a third and final term ending in 2030.
During his years in office, Al Sissi, an ex-defence minister, has launched a series of mega-projects including the construction of a new administrative capital east of Cairo.
However, Egyptian economy has been hit hard by fallout from the global pandemic, and the war in Ukraine.
