Egypt’s foremost liberal opposition motion stated Sunday 17 September 2023 it might not nominate a presidential candidate within the election anticipated subsequent 12 months after its frontrunner was sentenced to 6 months in jail.
Distinguished dissident Hisham Kassem, sentenced on Saturday to 6 months in jail, had been “a possible presidential candidate”, his Free Present political coalition stated.
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Egypt Opposition won’t nominate a candidate
The opposition group stated it “wouldn’t be nominating a candidate for the upcoming presidential elections” after Kassem was discovered responsible of defaming a former minister and “contempt of officers” and sentenced.
“Hisham Kassem was a possible presidential candidate, had the essential electoral ensures been supplied,” the Free Present stated in a press release, additionally saying it was suspending operations.
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The presidential election, anticipated to be held subsequent 12 months, has already been fraught with accusations of repression.
“The political ambiance won’t permit free of charge, honest and simply elections, with out which the regime is each competitor and referee,” in keeping with the coalition.
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Harassment by the safety forces
The one candidate campaigning up to now, Ahmed al-Tantawi, has denounced repeated harassment by the safety forces in opposition to his groups and supporters.
On Friday, Tantawi revealed his telephone had been bugged, in keeping with a report by the College of Toronto’s Citizen Lab. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is broadly anticipated to announce his candidacy however has not but performed so.
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The previous military chief was first elected in 2014 after main the ouster of elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. He then gained the 2018 election in a landslide victory in opposition to considered one of his personal supporters.
Kassem’s Free Present coalition, shaped in June by opposition events, advocates financial liberalisation and requires an finish to the military’s stranglehold on Egypt’s economic system.
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Kassem was considered as a risk
In keeping with coalition member Gameela Ismail, Kassem was lengthy considered as a risk due to his criticism of the army’s position within the economic system — which has been in free fall for greater than a 12 months and is prone to be a key bone of rivalry within the upcoming polls.
Kassem — in custody since August 20 — was initially summoned after an ex-minister complained he had shared on-line articles suggesting the minister had embezzled funds.
The activist was later accused of “contempt” by officers throughout questioning at a police station. Rights group Amnesty Worldwide on Thursday referred to as on Egypt’s authorities to “instantly launch” Kassem.
It referred to as his detention “a sign that the Egyptian authorities’ relentless marketing campaign to silence peaceable critics and punish dissent… is continuous in full power”.
BHA/srm© Agence France-Presse
