23,924 signatures for Sisi collected so far

CAIRO – 14 January 2018: As the third Egyptian presidential election since 2011 is due to take place , over 23,924 signatures have been collected in support of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi running for a second four-year term in office.

Egyptians across the country have signed forms at the state authorization offices since the National Election Authority (NEA) announced on Monday the official schedule for the election, the first round of which will take place in late March.

According to the NEA, the 389 authorization offices across the country are open to receive citizens’ signatures until January 29.

In Luxor, at least 600 signatures were authorized until Saturday, according to an official source at Luxor’s authorization office. The source noted that all the signed forms were in favor of Sisi.

In this regard, Nation's Future Party’s Secretary General in Luxor Wael Zakaria said he will coordinate with “Alashan Tebneha” (To Build It) campaign to collect all signatures for Sisi.

In Gharbiya governorate, in the Nile Delta, dozens of Egyptians at Sonbat village authorized their signatures for President Sisi, demanding him to lead Egypt for a second term and continue fighting corruption.

In Qalyubia governorate, more than 7,000 signatures were authorized, and all of them were in favor of Sisi, according to sources.

The Nation’s Future Party will hold a conference in Banha city to declare its official support to Sisi in the upcoming presidential election so that the president will be able to fulfill his pledge to build a modern state; protect it from extremism, treason and terrorism; and continue economic and developmental projects.

In Kafr El-Sheikh, more than 6,000 signatures were authorized at the governorate’s offices, while they demand Sisi for a second term in office.

In Menoufia governorate, hundreds headed to sign authorizations for Sisi, as at least 1,100 signatures were collected so far and the inhabitants of this Delta governorate expect to collect 10,000 signatures, said Nation’s Future Party’s Secretary General in Menoufia Mustafa Basyoni.

In Damietta, more than 2,153 signatures were collected, while 2,328 signatures were collected in South Sinai governorate, according to Nation’s Future Party’s officials on Saturday.

In Sohag governorate, in Upper Egypt, over 10,000 signatures were collected in four days in favor of Sisi.

Out of 596 parliamentarians, 516 members, including Speaker Ali Abdul Aal, signed the recommendation forms to persuade President Sisi to run for a second presidential term in the 2018 elections scheduled for March.

“Since we received the recommendation forms at the parliament headquarters, about 516 members of parliament signed it. We will continue receiving signatures during the coming period,” Counselor Mohamed Nouser, deputy secretary-general of Parliament, said in statements to Egypt Today on Thursday.

Also, “Alashan Tbneeha” (To Build It), a public campaign calling for President Sisi to run for a second term as the head of state, held its third press conference in December to announce the total number of signatures collected.

“The campaign collected 12,132,460 valid signatures, while a total of 239,361 signed forms were null and void,” announced one of the campaign’s founders, Mohamed al-Garhy.

“The campaign’s goal is to secure and protect our homeland, so it demands that President Sisi run in the upcoming presidential elections for a second term,” read the first press statement released by the To Build It campaign.

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. Sixty 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 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.

President 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.