Egypt’s former military Chief of Staff Sami General Sami Anan, Cairo, Egypt, March 2011 – AFP/ Khaled Desouki
CAIRO – 12 January 2018: Ex-military Chief of Staff Sami Anan’s candidacy for president was revealed at a party he held. However, his son denied knowing anything about his father’s decision. Hence, it is not clear at this point in time whether General Sami Anan will run in the presidential election or not.
“Egypt’s former military Chief of Staff General Sami Anan will run for the upcoming presidential election,” announced a statement posted on social networks by the Arabism Egypt Party on Thursday.
On the other hand, Anan’s son denied to Egypt Today that the 69-year-old had any intentions to run in the presidential election, which will begin on March 26.
The circulated statement revealed that Anan had been chosen by the Arabism Egypt Party to be the party’s potential candidate in the 2018 presidential election and the party will hold a press conference at their main headquarters in Dokki to officially announce his candidacy.
“On Thursday evening, the Arabism Egypt Party convened and chose General Sami Anan to be the party’s candidate in the presidential election,” Sami Balah, the party’s secretary general, told Egypt Today.
Balah stated that the party’s members will sign recommendation forms for Anan across the country in order to meet the legal requirements for him to run in the upcoming election.
Arabism Egypt Party’s leading member Ragab Hemeda confirmed to Egypt Today that Anan will run in the presidential election as the party’s representative.
Anan's son Samir denied knowing about his father’s candidacy, saying, “I have never heard about this decision.”
“I knew about my father’s intention for candidacy for the presidential election from media outlets, not from my father who has not discussed such a decision with me,” Samir stressed.The Homeland Defenders Party’s Chairman Major-General Mohamed al-Ghobashi doubted the authenticity of the Arabism Egypt Party’s statement about General Sami Anan’s candidacy for many reasons, most notably, “Anan realizes that everybody has to support President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to lead Egypt during the current critical stage.”
“Anan, as a former member of the armed forces, knows that Sisi has sufficient expertise to be the man for the current stage,” Ghobashi declared to Egypt Today.
He manifested that President al-Sisi’s potential to lead the Egyptian state and the Arab region in the current stage are clearly known to anyone including General Sami Anan.
Voting in the 2018 presidential election in Egypt will start on March 26, as announced by the National Electoral Authority (NEA) on Monday, January 8. 60 million eligible voters will cast their ballots in the election between March 26 and 28 in Egypt, while expatriates will vote between March 16 and 18.
In a press conference held by NEA Chairman Lasheen Ibrahim on Monday, he affirmed that the final list of the candidates will be announced on February 24, noting that the deadline for any candidate to retract will be on March 1. The primary results of the first round of the elections will be announced on March 29, after decisions on appeals submitted by candidates, if any, will be made.
Earlier, former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik (76 years old) stated on January 7, that he will not run in the presidential election, rescinding his announcement made last November in which he expressed his serious intention to run in the upcoming election.
“By observing the reality, I have seen that I will not be the ideal person to lead the nation in the upcoming period; thus, I have decided not to run for president in the 2018 presidential elections,” according to Shafik’s statement released a week ago.
Veteran lawyer and Human rights activist Khaled Ali has announced his candidacy for the presidential election in a press conference on Thursday.
On January 3, the Dokki court of misdemeanors adjourned to March 7 an appeal filed by Khaled Ali against a three-month jail sentence, according to state news agency MENA.
In September, he was sentenced to 3 months in jail and fined LE 1000 on bail on charges of waving with an indecent hand gesture in a public space during a protest in Dokki province.
On March 7, if Ali is found guilty by the court, he will be legally disqualified to run in the presidential election.
Khaled Ali (45 years old) was formally a presidential candidate during the 2012 elections; however he received only 134,056 votes, according to a NEC statement.
President al-Sisi, who has not yet announced his candidacy for a second four-year term, is the sixth President of Egypt and came to office in June 2014 after the June 30 Revolution, which toppled former President Mohamed Morsi, who is affiliated with the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
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