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Monday, 29 January 2018

Political figures call for boycotting elections

Five leading opposition figures issued a joint statement yesterday calling for a boycott of Egypt’s upcoming presidential election, Al Mal reports. The statement denounced what it said was the clearing of the field by the state of any competitors to President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in his bid for a second term.

Who signed? Chief among them are the Islamist former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, former Central Auditing Organization head Hisham Genena (who was a top official in former Chief of Staff Sami Anan’s brief election bid), and Mohamed Anwar Sadat, who withdrew from the presidential race this month.

Meanwhile, Cairo prosecutors ordered the arrest of three people yesterday suspected of assaulting Genena, who was attacked and badly injured on Saturday after he left his residence in the suburbs of Cairo, Al Masry Al Youm reports. The detainees include Genena’s doorman. Police also seized cars belonging to Genena and the suspects, as well as weapons allegedly found in the suspects’ car.

Eight rights groups issued a statement yesterday condemning the attack on Genena as part of “revenge acts” against would-be presidential candidates, The Associated Press reports. The groups include the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms and the anti-torture Nadim Center.

In other election-related news, the Salafist Nour party said yesterday it is backing President Abdel Fattah El Sisi for a second term, Ahram Online reports. The party had backed Sisi in his first presidential bid in 2014.

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