(Public Domain\ File Photo)
If Minister of Defence Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi decides not to run for the presidency, “we will make him run,” said former presidential candidate and Constituent Assembly head Amr Moussa.
Moussa’s comments supporting Al-Sisi’s candidacy came during a Tuesday seminar organised by the Ministry of Youth.
“As for the [Egyptian] people, the majority of them want Al-Sisi to run for presidency,” Moussa added. “We don’t need to talk about any alternatives now. Al-Sisi is the one who has the people’s trust and admiration, [so] we should give him this chance [to run for presidency].”
Several campaigns, such as Kammel Gemilak, are also working to convince Al-Sisi to run for presidency.
The Tamarod campaign, however, had a different opinion. “Lieutenant General Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi should not run for presidency, to preserve his image as a national hero who did his duty for his nation,” said the movement in a Tuesday statement.
“The movement affirms that Egypt, after the revolution, must be ruled by a civilian president who is elected through a democratic process.”
The movement also added that presidential elections should be held before parliamentary elections.
“The movement’s goal in gathering the signatures of the Egyptian people [before 30 June] was to oust former president Mohamed Morsi and hold early presidential elections, this was confirmed in our 3 July statement, and therefore the presidential election must be held first.”
Former presidential hopeful Hamdeen Sabahy entered the presidential race by announcing that he would run for presidency if a national consensus is reached naming a “candidate of the revolution.”
Although widely expected to be held in 2014, no exact date has been set for presidential elections, and it has yet to be determined whether they will be held before or after parliamentary elections.
