Egypt started a campaign with attacks and a sure winner

Saturday morning the election campaign of the Egyptian presidential election to be held on 26 and 27 May began. Contestants are only two: Abdel Fatah al Sisi, former defense minister and not only the favorite, but the sure winner, and Hamdin Sabbahi, progressive spirit. Notably absent in this election is political Islam, winner of the last election through its most powerful brand in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, harshly repressed after being ousted from power in a coup last year.

Prior to the start of the campaign hours were marked by several episodes of violence that killed at least seven people. Five of them died of several terrorist attacks. In the Cairo neighborhood of Heliopolis, one homemade bomb placed in a checkpoint traffic police killed an officer and wounded three others. Another checkpoint, located on the Sinai Peninsula, was the target of a suicide bomber took the lives of two officers and injuring five others.

A third attack, this time against a bus carrying workers in the tourism industry, took place on the outskirts of the city of Sharm el Sheikh, and killed a passenger in addition to the suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt. Finally, one person was killed when an explosive device inside a car in central Cairo in strange conditions, so that the victim could have been the terrorist himself.

Moreover, two people died in the city of Alexandria after a rally organized by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood lead to riots.

These outbreaks of violence show that the presidential elections will be held in a remote climate normal. Al Sisis and Sabbahi (which was already a candidate in the 2012 presidential elections but fell in the first round) were the only two candidates who met the requirements established by the electoral law. The more demanding, expecting at least 25,000 signatures of support, and of these, at least 1,000 collected in 15 different provinces. Al Sisi made ??an entire show of force at present 200,000 to the Board of Elections, but his campaign claims to have almost half a million treasured. His opponent collected around 31,000.

In the keynote address of his candidacy, the former defense minister and announced that his campaign would not be conventional. Source components have leaked that Sisi was not lavish in mass meetings for security, but rather is directed to the public through the media. Still do not know what the axes of the campaign will be retired quarterback, but is expected to unveil on Monday in the first interview he has given to television.

Sabbahi, which was the third most voted candidate in the last presidential election, is a political ideology of Nasser and accentuated his progressive profile ahead of elections. 59, has the support of various secular and leftist parties. His collaborators have repeatedly complained of the lack of neutrality of the state apparatus, which casts a shadow of doubt on the fairness of the election process.

Anyway, it will not be easy for the authorities to convey an appearance of normality for these democratic elections, representing the culmination of the roadmap adopted after the coup of July 3. The riot occurred after a mass demonstrations against Islamist Mohamed Morsi, first elected President in a fair election.

Since then, authorities have harshly repressed expressions of opposition to the new regime. The Muslim Brotherhood, the movement of Morsi were declared terrorist organization last December and have seen their dome and thousands of his supporters were jailed. Hundreds of them have been sentenced to death, including its supreme guide, Mohamed Badie. The secular opposition also got rid of the harassment, and last week a court outlawed the April 6 Youth Movement, which played a central role in the revolt that toppled former dictator Hosni Mubarak.

On the streets of Aswan, the southern capital of Egypt, only if signs of the race in the making. Despite being less politicized than Cairo, here the polarization that has engulfed the Egyptian society is palpable. ” In July, I was optimistic with the arrival of the new regime. But I was very disappointed. He has shed blood, “said Jasmine, a young woman who speaks perfect English. ” For security issues we’ve run out tourists, but I prefer this to having the Muslim Brotherhood in power and a full restaurant,” replies the waitress in a desolate restaurant located on the banks of the Nile

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Posted by Abdul Basit Abbasi on May 6 2014. Filed under Middle East, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.