Sisi quits army, ministry to be Egypt’s next prez
29 March 2014 4:40 AM IST
Sisi turned up in civilian clothes at the weekly cabinet meeting to submit his resignation as minister after quitting as army chief the previous night, state news agency MENA reported. Meanwhile, General Sedki Sobhi was sworn in as the new defence minister and army chief on Thursday, while Lieutenant General Mahmoud Hegazi replaced Sobhi as army chief of staff, the presidency said. Hegazy is the father-in-law of Sisi’s son.
Declaring his widely anticipated candidacy in his televised address to the nation on Wednesday, Sisi vowed to fight ‘terrorism’ and work towards restoring the country’s battered economy. Wildly popular Sisi faces no serious competition in the presidential election to be held before June and is widely seen as the only leader able to restore order after more than three years of turmoil since the Arab Spring overthrow of veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak.
‘With all modesty, I nominate myself for the presidency of Egypt,’ Sisi said in his address to the nation, attired in his field marshal’s uniform and sitting behind a desk. He also vowed to fight militancy, which has killed more than 200 policemen and troops since Sisi’s ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi last July.
Egypt’s media hailed his speech, splashing it across their front pages on Thursday. ‘Finally, Sisi officially announces candidacy for president,’ said independent daily, Al-Masry Al-Youm, while state-run Al-Akhbar said: ‘Sisi starts his walk to presidential palace.’
Egyptians in the street too welcomed the announcement, saying it was inevitable that Sisi would become president. ‘Sisi is too powerful. If he had remained as defence minister, he would have become a headache for any president. Therefore there is no alternative to him’ but to become president, said Ali Amin, who works as a tour operator.
Sisi’s candidacy is likely to further inflame Islamist protests and worry those secular activists who fear a return to rule by military men and the strong-arm tactics of the Mubarak era. Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood rejected his candidacy outright.
‘He led a coup to become president. He is a man who has killed daily since the coup,’ Ibrahim Munir, a member of the Brotherhood’s political bureau, said over phone from London.
Declaring his widely anticipated candidacy in his televised address to the nation on Wednesday, Sisi vowed to fight ‘terrorism’ and work towards restoring the country’s battered economy. Wildly popular Sisi faces no serious competition in the presidential election to be held before June and is widely seen as the only leader able to restore order after more than three years of turmoil since the Arab Spring overthrow of veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak.
‘With all modesty, I nominate myself for the presidency of Egypt,’ Sisi said in his address to the nation, attired in his field marshal’s uniform and sitting behind a desk. He also vowed to fight militancy, which has killed more than 200 policemen and troops since Sisi’s ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi last July.
Egypt’s media hailed his speech, splashing it across their front pages on Thursday. ‘Finally, Sisi officially announces candidacy for president,’ said independent daily, Al-Masry Al-Youm, while state-run Al-Akhbar said: ‘Sisi starts his walk to presidential palace.’
Egyptians in the street too welcomed the announcement, saying it was inevitable that Sisi would become president. ‘Sisi is too powerful. If he had remained as defence minister, he would have become a headache for any president. Therefore there is no alternative to him’ but to become president, said Ali Amin, who works as a tour operator.
Sisi’s candidacy is likely to further inflame Islamist protests and worry those secular activists who fear a return to rule by military men and the strong-arm tactics of the Mubarak era. Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood rejected his candidacy outright.
‘He led a coup to become president. He is a man who has killed daily since the coup,’ Ibrahim Munir, a member of the Brotherhood’s political bureau, said over phone from London.
Next Story
