By Jake Lippincott
In a statement released on Sunday, the secretary general of the Wafd Party, the oldest political party in Egypt, endorsed former Defence Minister Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s presidential bid.
Secretary General Fouad Badawi’s statement said the party “supports Marshal Abdel Fattah Sisi’s” bid and stressed its commitment to maintaining “the principles of the revolutions of 25 January and 30 June,” as well as expressing support for human rights and the new constitution.
The statement went on to say that while the road to reform for Egypt would be “very difficult” Sisi, “the man for whom God put love in Egyptians’ hearts”, is the best man for the job and is capable of bringing “security, peace and stability to this country until we start building modern Egypt”.
In reference to the increasingly common anti-government attacks across Egypt, the statement also warns against “heartless, mindless terrorism that has no religion… [which is] an attempt by Israelis and Zionists to thwart the Egyptian state and turn the whole Arab world into a primitive region dominated by civil wars”.
The statement added that terrorists and their backers “have forgotten that Egypt and the Egyptian people are the best hosts of the earth and they are able, God willing, to rebuild their country.”
The statement ends by saying that while they support Sisi and trust that he will bring “democracy, the rule of law, human rights and good distribution of income”, the party “will not stand silent in the face of any violation” of these values.
