A Close Third

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Fri, 27 Sep 2013 - 11:44 GMT

BY

Fri, 27 Sep 2013 - 11:44 GMT

Sabbahi calls for vote recount and refuses to serve under Shafik or Morsi’s government
By Passant Rabie
After winning 21.6 percent of the votes and coming in third in the preliminary results, presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi has become the country’s latest unsung revolutionary hero in less than 48 hours. The Nasserist candidate had started off with a relatively low-key campaign, hiding behind predicted front-runners such as Amre Moussa and Abdel Moneim Abolfotoh. However, he made a comeback in the last two weeks before the elections and surpassed all expectations by coming in at a very close third place. Although former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik and the Freedom and Justice Party’s Mohamed Morsi scored an overall second and first place respectively, Sabahi came in first place in several electoral districts, including Alexandria where he gained over 600,000 votes. Sabbahi’s supporters, and those who fear a comeback of the old regime through Shafik or a takeover of the Muslim Brotherhood through Morsi, held their breath as Sabbahi’s numbers got him closer to second place. Following the preliminary results, he became one of the most talked about political figures in the presidential race, serving as a lost dream for revolutionaries. Waiting for the January 25 republic In Alexandria, the candidate’s supporters have formed a new movement called, ‘Sabbahi, our Dream’ that stands behind the candidate regardless of the final results for the elections. His supporters gathered yesterday in Saad Zaghloul Square in Alexandria to await the final results of the elections’ first round. The movement announced their intentions to mark the ballots with his name during the run-off elections, in protest of the results.
 
Similarly, Sabbahi’s Cairene supporters had already started to gather on Friday night in Tahrir Square to protest the election’s preliminary results that didn’t lead to their candidate’s inclusion in the run-offs. Sabbahi called for a vote recount, claiming that ballots were rigged in favor of candidate Shafik. In his appeal request, Sabbahi claimed that 117,000 soldiers were given ballots to vote for Shafik, while some of Sabbahi’s ballots were destroyed. He added that Shafik should not have been in the race due to the political isolation law that was proposed by parliament. However, the High Commission for Elections denied Sabbahi’s request for appeal yesterday, May 28. Speaking on Al-Nahar Channel, Sabbahi stated that he will refuse any position offered to him by both Shafik and Morsi. Sabahi’s campaign media spokesperson in Alexandria reassured that Sabbahi’s supporters will stand behind him until he becomes president of a democratic, civil state. With little to no hope of the candidate being in the run-off elections round, it seems that his newfound supporters are holding off for four more years until Sabbahi is able to run for presidency again. Two-time member of Parliament for the years 2000 and 2005, Sabbahi was sent to jail 17 times for his stance against the government and has refused to use his parliamentary immunity to stop one of the arrests. Speaking at a press conference held at the campaign headquarters on May 26, Sabbahi addressed his supporters, saying, “[I will] build a nation of justice and love, the January 25 republic, which will ultimately be victorious.” et

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