The head of Egypt’s outgoing constitutional drafting committee, Amr Moussa, said on Tuesday that Egypt’s military chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi should run for president.
Moussa, a former presidential candidate himself who came fifth in the presidential elections won by Mohamed Morsi in 2012, said that General El-Sisi is extremely popular among Egyptians and that the majority are hoping to vote him into office.
“If Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi refuses to run [for the presidency], we will urge him to do so,” said Moussa during a panel hosted by the Ministry of Youth.
El-Sisi, who is also defence minister, announced the removal of Mohamed Morsi from the presidency in July after mass protests against the Islamist leader. The military chief’s popularity soared in the months following Morsi’s ouster, with many Egyptians hailing him for ending Islamist rule.
While he had initially announced that he would not seek power, El-Sisi has more recently said that the possibility is open.
A number of campaigns have sprung up to pressure the general to run for the presidency at the upcoming elections — expected in the first half of 2014.
It has not yet been decided whether parliamentary or presidential elections will take place first.
Source : Ahram
