As Egypt President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi prepared to give a speech to confirm his presidential candidacy, thousands converged on public squares to attend state-sponsored concerts and, in the process, support the incumbent.
Things looked to be going according to plan as Sisi said on Monday he will run for a third term in office, drawing loud cheers from his supporters and signalling the start of the party.
But the only blot on the copybook came up in Marsa Matruh, a resort town on the Mediterranean coast, close to the Libyan border. Videos posted on social media showed what appeared to be disgruntled youths chanting against Sisi and tearing up a poster of him, then setting it on fire.
400 arrests
It was a rare display of dissent in a country where protests are virtually banned. Sisi has overseen a wide-reaching crackdown on all forms of opposition since assuming office in 2014, with rights groups saying tens of thousands are languishing behind bars on political charges.
The interior ministry said it had arrested the “perpetrators of a fight that broke out between some people in Marsa Matruh as they jostled to take pictures with Libyan poets” making no reference to the protests.
Some pro-state commentators said on social media the demonstration was instigated by the Muslim Brotherhood. They accused the outlawed group, from which late Islamist president Mohamed Morsi hailed, of “paying kids to sow chaos”.
A member of the lawyers’ syndicate in the city said 400 people had been arrested, according to Al Manassa, one of the few independent outlets still operating in Egypt.
The interior ministry’s version of the incident led to a flurry of sarcastic comments on social media.
“Yesterday there were protests in Marsa Matruh where photos of Sisi were ripped up and discontent was visible,” Mai El-Sadany, the executive director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP), said on X.
“MOI (interior ministry) … describing demos instead of clashes, with youth competing to take pics with Libyan poets. How does one even begin to come up with a story like this?”
Pro-state media said the support shown to Sisi after he confirmed he would run for elections in December was spontaneous. Political activists say the show was orchestrated, claiming that people were primarily invited to attend free concerts featuring some famous singers.
‘Hunger and deprivation’
Sisi’s announcement that he would vie in the election marked the end of a three-day event in which he spoke about his record in office at the new administrative capital he built in the desert east of Cairo. Parts of his impromptu talk led to stern criticism of his legacy.
At one point, Sisi suggested that Egyptians should be ready to accept “hunger and deprivation” as a price of development. Sisi’s administration has spent big on infrastructure, with the government saying such investments are key to luring investors.
With Egypt facing a foreign currency crunch and record inflation figures, critics have questioned the wisdom of incurring more debts. The country is required to pay $29.23bn in external debt service in 2024, according to central bank figures.
“Egyptians actually starved during your rule because of your administration. They did not see any of the development that was promised,” Ahmed Eltantawy, a former parliament member who is seeking to run for president, said on X.
Eltantawy said his campaign is facing harassment as he races against time to collect the 25,000 citizen endorsements needed to run against Sisi. Many people said they were prevented by notary offices from issuing endorsements for Eltantawy.
Other low-key politicians confirmed they would also run in the elections, including the head of the liberal Wafd party and the president of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party.
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