Why Egypt’s oldest political party isn’t challenging President al-Sissi
Egypt is in the midst of a baffling election season. President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi is running for reelection, and a succession of possible opponents have met unfortunate ends. A rogue military colonel who announced his candidacy on Facebook promptly disappeared. The prominent former general Sami Anan was detained and his deputies attacked by vigilantes. Civilian lawyer and liberal favorite Khaled Ali announced his withdrawal, complaining of irregularities.
Sissi claims to be a democrat, but without a challenger, the entire election risked invalidation by Egypt’s intermittently independent judiciary. The president needed an opponent, and with hours to go before the Jan. 29 filing deadline, he finally got one: Moussa Moustafa Moussa of the small al-Ghad Party.… Seguir leyendo »