Dostour Party head Gameela Ismail says ready to run in presidential elections

CAIRO – 21 September 2023: Opposition political activist and Head of Egypt’s liberal Constitution Party (Al-Dostour) Gameela Ismail announced late on Wednesday her readiness to run for president in the upcoming presidential elections.

An hour later, Al-Dostour Party approved Ismail as its candidate in the presidential elections, slated for December.

“I hereby announce to you, my colleagues, my readiness to run for the position of the presidency of the republic,” Ismail said in an official statement on her Facebook page.

She added that her decision comes amid “the ambiguity of the political scene and the regime’s insistence on ignoring the demands of political forces and popular blocs for the right in having democratic elections.”

“Participation, despite its risks, is the path to continue our struggle in the historical moment in which we want our country to avoid becoming a perpetually suffering hotspot,” she affirmed.

Ismail, known for her opposition to the current state policies, said people need to not be isolated anymore from information and want to hold officials accountable for the “daily disasters.”

She added that people are denied their right in receiving information about state’s policies, including about the state’s borrowing policy and load-shedding program despite promises that Egypt will be capable of exporting electricity.

“We bear the devastating effects of policies that we did not participate in,” she stated.

Ismail said her planned candidacy in the elections aims to contribute to achieving transition from protesting to participation.

“This cannot be achieved through silent demands but through active engagement,” she stated, affirming the need to “break the fear and [face] those who exploit it.”

Egypt’s 2024 elections

Egypt is preparing for its fifth multi-candidate presidential elections and its third since the 30th of June 2013 Revolution.

Several leading figures from renowned political parties have announced plans to run for elections, including Abdel-Sanad Yamama, head of El-Wafd Party and Hazem Oman, head of the People’s Republican Party.

The constitution does not give the right for a president to run for a third term. However, constitutional amendments in 2019 stretched the presidential term to six years instead of four.

Therefore, incumbent President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who has been serving since 2014, exceptionally has the right to run for a third term until 2030.

Sisi has not announced plans to run for elections to date. However, tens of political parties and unions have announced support to his potential candidacy, including the parliamentary majority party Mostaqbal Watan.