Egyptian Army Chief Sissi Announces Run for Presidency
by Diaa Bekheet March 26, 2014
Egypt's Abdel Fattah al-Sissi said on Wednesday he had resigned from his positions as defense minister and army chief and announced he would run for the presidency in a forthcoming election that he is expected to win easily.
In a televised statement, Sissi said he could not 'perform miracles'' and called on Egyptians to work hard to improve their country. The 59-year-old who deposed President Mohamed Morsi last year also said Egypt was threatened by terrorists and he would work to make a country 'free of fear.'
Sissi submitted his resignation to interim president Adly Mansour. He must leave the army in order to run in the election.
Sissi's decision to run for president has been widely expected, and will likely have the explicit backing of Egypt's powerful military.
No date has yet been set for the vote.
The announcement comes just two days after a court in southern Egypt mass sentenced 529 Morsi supporters to death for killing a police officer.
It also comes a few hours after the military-installed government sent more than 1,700 other Brotherhood and Morsi supporters to trial on charges including violence, terrorism, and murder.The rulings have fueled long-running students protests throughout Egypt.
Clashes erupted Wednesday between police and students at several Egyptian universities, and live television images monitored in Washington showed police using tear gas and bullets to disperse the protesters. Dozens have been arrested at Cairo and Zagazig universities.
The students are demanding the release of their colleagues from jails and protesting the death sentences against Morsi's supporters and the Brotherhood members.
Some information for this story contributed by Reuters.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
