Egyptians will be heading to the polls
from 10th to 12th December to elect their next president who will steer the
affairs of the country for the next six years. In all, four people have been
cleared by the National Elections Authority (NEA) to contest in this year’s
election. They are incumbent president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Abdel-Sanad Yamama
from the WAFD party, Hakem Omar from the Republican People’s Party and Farid
Zahran of the Social Democratic Party. With a few days to election eve, the
African Elections Projects takes a look at the profiles of the presidential
candidates.
Abdel Fattah El-Sisi
Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, 69, is the
incumbent president of Egypt. El-Sisi is seeking a third term in office in the
upcoming presidential election. He is widely expected to win, as he faces no real
threat from his challengers. El-Sisi rose to prominence as a military commander
during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and subsequently became Minister of Defence.
In 2013, he led a military coup that overthrew President Mohamed Morsi of the
Muslim Brotherhood. He later won the 2014 and 2018 elections with 96% and 97% respectively.
El-Sisi's presidency has been marked
by several significant achievements. He has overseen a period of relative
stability in Egypt, and he has made progress on key economic reforms.
However, the country’s current economic situation is dire,
with the Egyptian Pound losing half of its value since 2022, and inflation
reaching an all-time high. These economic challenges have led to widespread
discontent among the Egyptian people.
Furthermore, his record on human rights has been
widely criticized. His government has been accused of stifling dissent, curtailing
freedom of speech, unlawful arrests and jailing tens of thousands of people
without fair trials.
Abdel-Sanad Yamama
Abdel-Sanad Yamama, 71, is the leader
of the country’s oldest liberal party, the Wafd. Yamama. He is a professor of
Private International Law at the Faculty of Law,
Menoufiya University.
He
holds a master’s degree in International law from Ain Shams University in 1983
and a doctorate in foreign investment in Egypt from the University of Nancy in
France in 1988. Before heading the Wafd Party, he worked as a lawyer for the
Muslim World League.
He
then joined the Wafd party in 2004, which was established after the 1919
revolution against the British occupation.
He
was elected as a member of the Supreme Committee of the Wafd Party for 3 consecutive
terms, in addition to previously holding the position of chairman of the
Legislative and Constitutional Committee.
Hakem
Omar
Hakem Omar, 59, is a tourism entrepreneur who currently serves as the
leader of the Republican People's Party (RPP), a centre-right political party.
He is a strong advocate for individual liberties, the rule of law, and a
market-oriented economy.
In
2020, Omar was appointed by El-Sisi to the Senate. He held the position of
chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before submitting his
resignation in late September.
In
his 2023 campaign, he promised to promote the rule of law, and economic
freedom and ensure transparency and accountability in governance.
Farid Zahran
Farid Zahran, 66, is a lawyer by profession, and the leader
of the Social Democratic Party – a party that believes in both free market economics and social justice as part
of a free and democratic system.
His campaign focuses
on improving the Egyptian economy, through raising productivity levels,
attracting foreign direct investments, and expanding agricultural production.
Follow the African Elections Project on Twitter and Facebook
@Africanelection for more updates.
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