MP Mansour: My first presidential decision is to ban Facebook

CAIRO - 13 January 2018: Parliamentarian Mortada Mansour announced he is running for president in presidential elections to be held in March 2018, during a phone interview on Sada al-Balad Channel on Saturday, saying that his first presidential resolution is to shut down Facebook in Egypt.

Mansour told TV host Ahmed Mousa on Ala Mas’oliety talk show that he is starting collecting MPs signatures to back his nomination on early Sunday, saying that he will resort to citizens’ signatures in case he failed to meet the minimum number of MPs.


Most of MPs backed the nomination of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, however, there are still from 15-20 MPs haven’t make their minds up, according to Mansour.

The chairman of Zamalek Spoorts Club and member of the House of Representatives said he will start campaigning by taking tours at all governorates to promote his electoral program and meet with citizens.

The MP revealed that he will use his electoral program from his past nomination in 2012, pointing out that his first resolution as a president will be shutting down Facebook in Egypt, besides other economic and social projects.

"One of my priority issues is the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam; we should find a definite resolution to this dangerous dam, it will lead to the dryness of our lands," Mansour told the host. Mansour tackled other issues like street children, unemployment and education, saying that they will be on the top of his priorities.


Mansour is the third person to announce his nomination after the leftist lawyer Khaled Ali and former army’s chief of staff Sami Anan, while President Sisi hasn’t announced his candidacy yet.

Voting in the 2018 presidential election in Egypt will start on March 26, as announced by the NEC on Monday, January 8. Sixty million eligible voters will cast their ballots in the election on March 26-28 in Egypt, while expatriates will vote on March 16-18.

In a press conference held by NEC Chairman Lasheen Ibrahim on January 8, he affirmed that the final list of the candidates will be announced on February 24, noting that the deadline for any candidate to retreat will be on March 1. The primary results of the first round of the election will be announced on March 29, when decisions on appeals submitted by candidates, if any, will be made.

The final results of the first round will be announced on April 2.

If no candidate obtains the majority of votes, a three-day run-off round will commence in Egypt on April 24, and on April 19 abroad.

The name of the winning candidate will be announced on May 1, Ibrahim stated.

The NEC previously announced that presidential candidates will have a ceiling of LE 20 million to spend on their electoral campaign in the first round, while they are only permitted to spend LE 5 million in the run-off round.