2018 Egyptian presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Egypt between 26 and 28 March 2018, though Egyptians abroad voted from 16 to 18 March 2018. On 19 January, incumbent President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi formally announced he would run for a second and final term. El-Sisi won the election with 97%, according to the official results. A runoff would have taken place 19 to 21 April outside the country and 24 to 26 April within the country if no candidate had reached 50% of the vote. The election had a turnout of roughly 41%, lower than the 2014 election's 47%. A 2019 constitutional change allowed El-Sisi to remain in power until 2030 instead of 2022.

Fourteen human rights groups dismissed the poll as "farcical." They said the authorities had "trampled over even the minimum requirements for free and fair elections", stifling basic freedoms and eliminating key challengers. The only approved challenger to Sisi was another pro-government politician, Moussa Mostafa Moussa.

Electoral system

The president of Egypt is elected using the two-round system. The winner will be announced on 2 April (if no run-off is needed). If a run-off is needed, the final result will be announced on 1 May. If only one person runs for the presidency, he or she can win with a yes vote from five percent of the eligible voters.

Boycotts

The Civil Democratic Movement announced on 30 January 2018 that it would boycott the vote.

Candidates

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is the incumbent president of Egypt. After leading the 2013 military coup that overthrew Egypt's first democratically elected president, el-Sisi retired from his military career in 2014 and subsequently won that year's presidential election. In the announcement of his candidacy, he stated, "There are people I know who are corrupt, I will not allow them to come near this chair.” President Sisi received the endorsement of 464 members of Egyptian Parliament, approximately two thirds of the body.

Moussa Mostafa Moussa

Ghad Party chairman Moussa Mostafa Moussa, a pro-Sisi politician who had an active role in collecting nomination pledges for Sisi's second term until 20 January, announced that he found endorsements from 26 members of parliament, as well as 47,000 signatures from the public, although he declared his intention to run just a day before the deadline of the elections commission. Moussa submitted his nomination pledges and official paperwork to the commission just 15 minutes before the deadline. In an interview with ''Egypt Today'', Moussa said he was not a "phony" candidate, and that he had "a vision that can be achieved by being part of the system".

Declined candidates

*Ahmed Shafik, former Egyptian prime minister and leader of the Egyptian Patriotic Movement and 2012 presidential candidate.

Withdrawn candidates

*Khaled Ali, a human rights lawyer and former head of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR) and 2012 presidential candidate, announced his intention to run for the presidency on 6 November 2017. Ali withdrew on 24 January 2018 after the arrest of another candidate, Sami Anan. He had also been convicted of making "an obscene gesture" outside a courthouse and was in the appeal process.
*Sami Hafez Anan, former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, officially announced his candidacy in
Facebook video
on 19 January 2018. He was arrested on 23 January after being accused by the Egyptian Armed Forces of forging his release from military service. It is illegal in Egypt for active military personnel to participate in politics. Anan retired from military service in 2012 after being removed by then-president Mohamed Morsi

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