What happens if Sisi is the only presidential candidate?

CAIRO – 24 January 2018: Egyptian TV presenter Amr Adeeb revealed during his talk show "Kol Yom" (Everyday) on Tuesday how to deal with the presidential elections if President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi is the only candidate.

Adeeb said that Article 36 of the Egyptian presidential elections law indicates that the only candidate in the presidential election must receive support from 5 percent of the voters whose names are registered in the voter database.



According to the constitution, the Egyptian president can serve for a maximum of two four-year terms.

He also added that if the candidate fails to obtain the required number of votes; the NEA should set a new date for elections within 15 days of the announcement of the poll results.

President Sisi declared on Wednesday that Ambassador Mahmoud Karem will be the general coordinator for his presidential campaign and that Mohamed Bahaa el-Din Abu Shoka will be his legal representative and his presidential campaign’s spokesperson.


Sisi has submitted his candidacy file to the National Election Authority (NEA), including his medical checkup documents, tens of thousands of endorsement forms and over 500 recommendations from the 596-member House of Representatives, the NEA said.


A man carries boxes of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi's endorsement forms into the National Election Authority Jan. 24, 2018 - Ashraf Fawzy
On January 19, President Sisi announced his candidacy for a second term in the 2018 presidential elections, which are scheduled to be held on March 26 - 28 for Egyptians residing in Egypt.

The announcement came during Sisi’s closing speech at the end of the three-day “Tale of a Homeland” conference, where the president and the Egyptian government presented an overview of projects and achievements made in different fields during the last four years.

Sisi also expressed his intention to run for president on his official Twitter account, calling on the Egyptian people to participate intensively in the upcoming elections by voting for whomever they see most eligible. Sisi won nearly by 97 percent of votes in the 2014 presidential elections.

A total of 850,000 endorsement forms have been signed by citizens for potential candidates, NEA announced in a Monday press release without giving a breakdown of the signatures.

Potential candidates who announced they would run for office are incumbent President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Samy Anan, rights lawyer Khaled Ali, and parliamentarian and President of Zamalek Sports Club Mortada Mansour.

Shafiq has withdrawn, Anan has been summoned for a forgery probe, and Mansour said in 2012 and 2014 that he would run, but never did. Meanwhile, Ali is due Wednesday to declare the outcome of his meetings on whether or not to withdraw.

The first round of the presidential elections in Egypt will take place between March 26 and 28, and the second round between April 24 and 28, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) announced in a televised statement on January 8.


The National Election Authority conference announces the 2018 presidential election timeline - Egypt Today/ Amr Moustafa