‘To Build It’: Public campaign demands Sisi run for 2nd term

CAIRO – 25 September 2017: Demanding that President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi run for a second term, “Alashan Tbneeha” (To Build It), a public campaign, announced their first press conference Monday, affirming that they do not follow any political party or governmental entity.



“As founders, we ascertained President Sisi’s loyalty and his keenness regarding fixing the state’s real problems, including the economic situation of the country,” the statement read. It added that Sisi didn’t let the possibility of losing part of his popularity among Egyptians stand in his way when he announced the economic reform program.

“He risked everything and stood strong while taking several historical, fateful decisions, trusting that Egyptians will understand the reasons behind them,” the "To Build It" campaign stated in its first statement.



Ahmed Al-Kahteeb, one of the campaign’s founders, said in his speech that everything started with a Facebook page he created. Shortly, several people tried to contact the page founders asking about the idea and expressing their wish and will to volunteer with them.



“That’s why the page turned into a public campaign that aims to reach Sisi and tell him that there are several Egyptians wanting him to run for a second presidential term to get the chance of finishing what he started in 2014,” Kahteeb said.

“Several reasons led us to announce our campaign publicly here today, including Sisi’s strategic perspective in dealing with a number of sensitive files,” Kahteeb said, explaining more about "To Build It."



“He [Sisi] was aware of the importance of the social justices’ file and put it as a priority. He stood firmly in the face of corruption and paid huge attention to women’s role within the society,” the campaign’s statement added.

High board announced, volunteers needed

During the conference, the campaign announced choosing six of the founding members to form the High Board, as they announced one of them as their official spokesperson.

The board was announced to include Ahmed Al-Kahteeb, Kareem Salim, Hazem Tawfeq, Ahmed Badwi, Mohamed Shabaan and Mohamed el-Garhi.



Kareem Salim, another founder of the campaign said that they are in need of a number of volunteers all over the country, and that all needed forms will be available through their Facebook page as soon as possible.

Furthermore, it was added that a signature campaign will be lunched soon. “We are going to collect signatures from all around the state, aiming to convince President Sisi that there is a huge number of Egyptians wanting him to run again,” Salim said.



Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is the sixth president of Egypt. He came to office on June 2014 after the revolution of June 30, which toppled former President Mohamed Morsi, who is affiliated with the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood.