EGYPT: Supporters of Egypt's presidential hopefuls are out on Cairo's streets on the final day of campaigning for the upcoming elections

Record ID: 347153

  • Title: EGYPT: Supporters of Egypt's presidential hopefuls are out on Cairo's streets on the final day of campaigning for the upcoming elections
  • Date: 23rd May 2014
  • Summary: STREET SCENE / CAMPAIGN POSTERS IN BACKGROUND CAMPAIGN POSTERS SABAHI CAMPAIGN POSTER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SABAHI SUPPORTER, HAYAA GOMA, SAYING: "Al- Sisi is from a military background. Him resigning from the Ministry of Defence does not mean he is no longer of a military background - no. He is a military candidate - was in the military before the elections. Hamdeen Sabah
  • Embargoed: 7th June 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAZUSNUBZOQ14MGLCVCNQ9JITZ
  • Story Text: The final day of campaigning saw voters out on Cairo's streets on Friday (May 23) voicing their support for their chosen candidate, as Egypt gears up for elections next week.
    Widely regarded as Egypt's de facto leader since removing the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi from the presidency in July, former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi faces one challenger for the May 26-27 vote: Hamdeen Sabahi, a leftist defeated by Mursi in the 2012 election.
    On Cairo's streets, banners of both candidates could be seen.
    Sisi enjoys backing from Egyptians worn down by political unrest since the 2011 uprising that was driven by demands for social justice and freedom.
    However, an opinion poll on Thursday May 22. showed just over half of Egyptians approve of the former army chief.
    The poll released by the Washington-based Pew Research Centre also found that 43 percent opposed the army's overthrow of elected president Mohamed Mursi last july, a move for which the military claimed national backing.
    The results of the poll suggest a nation more divided than Sisi's supporters would claim and indicate that he may have to move quickly to shore up support in a country where popular unrest has contributed to the downfall of two presidents since 2011.
    Hayaa Goma, a Sabahi supporter, told Reuters Television that Sisi will always be from a military background; Sabahi on the other hand is the 'revolution's candidate'.

    "Al- Sisi is from a military background. Him resigning from the Ministry of Defence does not mean he is no longer of a military background - no. He is a military candidate - was in the military before the elections. Hamdeen Sabahi is the revolution's candidate, he was with us from the start of the revolution, he has a specific election programme and if he contradicts this programme, we will be the first people to demand it of him," she said.
    Sisi's supporters see him as the kind of strong man needed to stabilise a country in crisis.

    "He must be president because he is the only one who can protect our country outside and inside and everywhere. He is the one who can protect Egypt - there is no one but him. He is Sisi, he is Gamel Abdel Nasser, he is Anwar al-Sadat, he is Salah al-Din al-Ayoubi from long ago -- his is Sisi who all the Egyptian people love," said Mona Eid.
    Security concerns mean Sisi has not appeared in public during an election campaign that lasted less than a month. Two plots to kill him have been uncovered, he has said.
    The vote follows the bloodiest chapter in Egypt's modern history. The state has killed many hundreds of Islamists and jailed thousands more, while militants have killed several hundred members of the security forces in ongoing violence.
    Members of the pro-democracy movement that led the protests against Mubarak have also been jailed, and many cases of torture by the security services have been reported by activists, recalling police abuses that helped ignite the 2011 uprising.
    Sabahi, heads a political alliance called the Popular Current and was a member of parliament under Mubarak. He came third in the 2012 presidential vote after Mursi and ex-air force chief Ahmed Shafik.
    For Sabahi supporter, Zizo Abdou, though he is the man for the job, he fears an unjust election will not see him into office.

    "I think if there were real elections, and real guarantees and effective monitoring - internal and external - the stronger voice would be for Hamdeen Sabahi and he would overtake Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. However, in the current circumstances, we see that Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will arrive through false means," said Abdou.
    Sabahi told Reuters in an interview earlier in 2014 that he doubted Sisi would bring democracy if elected, alleging that as Mubarak's former chief of military intelligence he was responsible for human rights abuses.
    Sabahi has said that the country has yet to cleanse a "rotten" system or create a new breed of politicians, and argues that Mubarak-era figures are making a comeback.
    Sisi will command both executive and legislative powers until a new parliament is elected. Legislative elections are expected later this year.
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