Competition Window Closes, Granting Sisi Clear Run to Presidency

An Egyptian woman holds a portrait of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (June 3, 2014) (File Photo: AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED)
An Egyptian woman holds a portrait of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (June 3, 2014) (File Photo: AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED)
TT
20

Competition Window Closes, Granting Sisi Clear Run to Presidency

An Egyptian woman holds a portrait of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (June 3, 2014) (File Photo: AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED)
An Egyptian woman holds a portrait of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (June 3, 2014) (File Photo: AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED)

Egypt's National Electoral Authority (NEA) announced that Monday is the last day for casting presidential candidacy for the elections scheduled for late March. With that, the current president, Abdul Fattah El-Sisi, became the only candidate to submit his candidacy papers to the committee.

Al-Wafd party announced on Sunday that it will continue to support Sisi after rejecting the candidacy of the party's president Sayyid al-Badawi's, even though he was seen by observers as the last possible competitor in the upcoming elections.

Meanwhile, MP Mustafa Bakri announced on his Twitter account that Sisi will not be the single candidate in the upcoming presidential elections. In a tweet published on Sunday, the MP stated the Monday will bring a surprise as a party candidate will submit his papers.

In the past few days, Bakri confirmed that Badawi and his party are competing against Sisi before Wafd's supreme committee decided to support the current president. He then again hinted at former candidate Hamdeen Sabbahi, who once again confirmed he would not be running.

If he runs alone, Sisi will need to get 5 percent of the total number of voters on the voters' list according to the presidential election law, which means that 3 million Egyptians must vote for him out of the 60 million registered voters.

In the meantime, the head of al-Nour Party, Younis Makhyoun announced his party's support to President Sisi in running for a second term in the presidential election due in March.

"President Sisi is the only person who can bring the country the stability and protection," Makhyoun said in a press conference, calling on people to participate in the election due in March.

The party's statement indicated that in accordance with "party’s decision-based counseling, the party surveyed the views of the various party bodies, offices and secretariats in the governorates."

The party’s supreme committee saw that the "incumbent president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, is the most capable of upholding such great responsibilities and can enhance cooperation among all state institutions: the police, the parliament, the administrative bodies to achieve stability, and save the country from a multitude of dangers."

Despite its support for Sisi, Nour party also criticized government policies supported by the current president. Makhyoun called for "addressing the negative economic effects on the poor and middle classes," and warned against the gap between classes, which is a great economic and social risk.

Former presidential candidate Abdul Moneim Aboul-Fotouh, former MP Anwar Sadat, and team members of former presidential candidate Sami Anan: Hisham Geneina and Hazem Hosni called for canceling the elections that have lost all credibility.

In a joint statement, the signatories called for boycotting the elections expressing their concern of a possible change of the constitution by opening presidential terms and eliminating any opportunity for a peaceful rotation of power.

“We urge our glorious people to boycott the vote and not to recognize whatever result it would produce,” said the statement.

Meanwhile, NEA spokesman Mahmoud el-Sherif, announced that up until the last day before ending candidacy, the authority had not received any requests. He pointed out that passes for observers of approved civil society organizations and media permits will be distributed.

The Authority approved applications submitted by 16 civil society organizations wishing to monitor the upcoming presidential elections, bringing the total number of approved organizations to 44 local organizations, four international organizations, the National Council for Human Rights and the National Council for Women.



Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
TT
20

Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo

Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week under the first, UN-backed plan providing financial incentives, after Syria's new rulers said all citizens were welcome home despite deep war damage and security concerns.

Returning Syrians will be provided with $100 each in Lebanon and $400 per family upon arrival in Syria, Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said. Transport is also covered and fees have been waived by border authorities, she said.

"I think it's a good and important start. We have discussed and are coordinating this with our Syrian counterparts and I think the numbers will increase in the coming weeks," Sayed told Reuters. A Syrian interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

More than 6 million Syrians fled as refugees after conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, with most heading to Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan. Lebanon has the highest concentration of refugees per capita in the world, hosting about 1.5 million Syrians among a population of about 4 million Lebanese.

Some 11,000 have registered to return from Lebanon in the first week, and the government targets between 200,000 and 400,000 returns this year under the plan, Sayed said.

The Lebanese government is focused on informal tented settlements in the country, where some 200,000 refugees live, she added, and may provide Syrian breadwinners who stay in Lebanon with work permits for sectors such as agriculture and construction if their families return to Syria.

UN agencies previously viewed Syria as unsafe for large-scale returns due to uncertainty over security and persecution by the government of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.

That has changed.

Since taking over, the new Syrian government has said all Syrians are welcome home. A UN survey from earlier this year showed nearly 30% of refugees living in Middle Eastern countries wanted to go back, up from 2% when Assad was in power.

"While the situation in Syria continues to rapidly evolve, (UN refugee agency) UNHCR considers the current context a positive opportunity for larger numbers of Syrian refugees to return home, or to begin considering return in a realistic and durable way," Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, told Reuters.

As of the end of June 2025, UNHCR estimated that over 628,000 Syrians had crossed back to Syria via neighboring countries since 8 December 2024, including 191,000 via Lebanon.