Wafd Party’s Al-Badawi announces presidential bid

CAIRO – 26 January 2018: Head of Wafd Party, Al-Sayyid Al-Badawi, announced on Friday his intention to run in the 2018 presidential election scheduled on March 26 and 28 inside Egypt, in a statement to Youm7.

“I made my decision to present my nomination papers to the National Election Authority as a presidential candidate, but I will wait for the party’s supreme council’s decision that will be announced after its meeting on Saturday,” Badawi said.

Badawi’s bid came only two days after President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi submitted his candidacy papers to the National Election Authority to run for a second term.

While lawyer Khaled Ali announced his withdrawal from the presidential bid, former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik also retreated from the race, and former Military Chief of Staff Sami Anan was removed from the voters’ database, Al-Badawi seemed to be the only prominent candidate to face Al-Sisi.

Al-Badawi refuted media reports about his running in the elections independently or his resignation from the Wafd Party, asserting that he only awaits the party’s formal nomination.

Badawi has served as Al-Wafd Party’s leader since 2010. He is also the head of Al-Hayat Television Network and chairman of the board of Sigma, a major pharmaceutical company. Al-Badawi first joined Al-Wafd in 1983 and became secretary general of the party in 2000.

Badawi was elected leader of Al-Wafd Party earlier in 2010 after Fouad Badrawi, grandson of founder Fouad Serag Al-Din, surprisingly decided not to run for the party’s top leadership post.

The National Election Authority has announced that the voting process in the 2018 presidential election will start on March 26, in a televised statement on 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, said NEC Chairman Lasheen Ibrahim in a press conference.

The final list of the candidates will be announced on February 24, he added, 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, where decisions on appeals submitted by candidates, if any, will be made.

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