We’re coming close to an announcement of El Sisi’s presidential reelection campaign: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi will hold a two-day state-of-the-nation conference from 17-19 January at which he is expected to outline his achievements during his first four-year term in office, according to a statement from Ittihadiya. The conference will also include meetings with representatives from civil society groups and organizations, and El Sisi will take questions from the public through the “Ask the President” initiative. El Sisi has said he would gauge the public’s reaction to this conference before announcing his intention to run for a second term. The president has already garnered endorsements from over 500 MPs in the House of Representatives. As we noted yesterday, human rights lawyer Khaled Ali, former Armed Forces Chief of Staff Sami Anan, and the curse of the Zamalek Football Club, Mortada Mansour, have announced that they will run for office. Former MP and opposition figure Mohamed Anwar Al Sadat will announce today whether he will enter the race.