Egypt will be hoping for a presidential ballot from December 10-12th, according to the nation’s elections authority on Monday.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is widely expected to win the reelection regardless of his administration’s economic crisis including record inflation and foreign currency scarcity.
President Sisi, aged 68, can contest for a third term due to constitutional amendments in 2019 that also prolonged the length of presidential terms to six years from the previous four years, paving the way for him to stay in office until 2030.
The election results would be announced on December 18 and, in the event of a run off round, final results would be announced by January 16 at the latest, the election authority revealed.
Although Sisi is yet to formally announce his candidacy, pro-government parties have begun a campaign including billboards around Cairo to support his re-election.
Four other candidates have expressed their interests to run for the no. 1 seat, time, most notably, a former member of parliament, Ahmed Eltantawy.
Former army chief Sisi became president in 2014, the year after he led the overthrow of democratically elected Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, following protests against Mursi’s rule.
Political pundits have commented that Sisi has the backing of the security services, most vitally, the army, which has become more powerful and has expanded its economic influence.
Sisi’s presidency was filled with crackdowns on dissent across the political spectrum in the country.
