2023 Egyptian presidential election
10–12 December 2023[1]
Registered67,032,438
Turnout66.88 (Increase25.75pp)
 
Nominee Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Hazem Omar
Party Independent Republican People's
Alliance Nation's Future Party
Popular vote 39,702,451 1,986,352
Percentage 89.65% 4.49%
President before election

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Independent

 Elected President

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Independent

Presidential elections were held in Egypt in December 2023, as announced by the National Election Authority,[2] after speculation that the elections might be held earlier than expected.[3] Candidate registration was from 5–14 October 2023 and the election was held in Egypt from 10 to 12 December;[2] expatriates voted from 1–3 December.[4]

Incumbent President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who initially came to power in the aftermath of the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état, was eligible for re-election since term limits were adjusted from four to six years by a constitutional amendment in 2019, and he technically will not have served as president for more than the maximum of 12 years at the time of the election. His rule has been described as authoritarian.[1][5][6][7][8][9] On 18 December he was reported to have won with 89.6% of the vote. The voter turnout was stated to be 66.8% of registered voters.[10] El-Sisi is set to be inaugurated for another term by April 2024 at the latest.

Background

Incumbent el-Sisi won the 2018 elections with over 97% of the vote, and faced only nominal opposition (a pro-government supporter, Moussa Mostafa Moussa) after several opposition figures were prevented from participating following the military arrest of Sami Anan,[11][12][13][14] threats made to Ahmed Shafik with old corruption charges and an alleged sex tape,[15][16][17] and the withdrawal of Khaled Ali and Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat due to the overwhelming obstacles presented, and violations committed, by the elections committee.[18][19][20]

Since 2022, Egypt was in the midst of an economic crisis, including record high inflation causing the Egyptian pound to lose nearly half its value from March 2022 to January 2023[21] and a shortage of foreign currency, the latter of which driven in part by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Prior to the crisis, roughly 30% of the population was already living below the poverty line, with an additional 30% considered vulnerable to poverty. Furthermore, the country's external debt bill tripled in the ten years prior.[22] Egypt had put several state-owned companies and stakes up for sale in a bid to raise money, and about half of the 2023/24 budget is allocated to debt servicing. The IMF has also requested that the Egyptian pound transition to a fully floating exchange rate in order for a round of loans to be released. Government spending on projects without a return on investment, such as the New Administrative Capital, were also blamed for contributing,[23] in addition to a persistent trade deficit and continuing influence of the military in economic affairs.[24][25] Moody's labeled Egypt as one of the top five economies most at risk of defaulting on foreign debt in 2023.[26]

Electoral system

The president of Egypt is elected using the two-round system for a term of six years, renewable once.[27]

To participate, a candidate can either secure the endorsement of 20 MPs or "25,000 eligible voters across at least 15 governorates," with at least 1,000 endorsements from each governorate.[28] Additionally, per Article 141 of the constitution:[29]

  • "A candidate must be an Egyptian citizen born to Egyptian parents
  • The candidate, their parents, and their spouse must not hold dual citizenship
  • The candidate must not have been denied their civil and political rights due to a criminal conviction
  • The candidate must have performed military service
  • The candidate must be at least 40 years old"

Candidates

The following candidates submitted their nomination papers[30] and were approved as candidates:[31]

Non-submitted

The following candidates had declared their intent to run, but did not submit their nomination papers:

Non-submitted candidates for the 2023 Egyptian presidential election
Name Experience Ref.

Fouad Badrawi		 Former MP for the New Wafd Party [40]

Ahmed El-Fadaly		 Chairman of the Democratic Peace Party [41]

Withdrawn

Withdrawn candidates for the 2023 Egyptian presidential election
Name Experience Endorsements Campaign announced Campaign suspended

Gameela Ismail		 Head of the Constitution Party 20 September 2023[42] 11 October 2023[43]

Ahmed Tantawi		 Former head of the Dignity Party[44]
Former MP for the 25-30 Alliance[45]		 14,000 endorsements[46] 21 April 2023[47] 13 October 2023[46]

Controversies

A Nation's Future Party Billboard endorsing el-Sisi in El Qobbah, Cairo. Billboard reads : "President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for President of the Republic", with a Hashtag saying : "The Beloved of the Egyptians".

The mobile phone of Ahmed Tantawi, considered the most prominent chalenger to incumbent el-Sisi, was hacked using the Predator spyware.[48] Citizen Lab and Google's Threat Analysis Group indicated that the attempts began as early as May 2023 and continued through August, using various methods, leading Apple to issue security updates on 21 September to patch the vulnerabilities exploited by the spyware.[49] Tantawi suspended his campaign for 48 hours on 27 September following harassment and arrests of his supporters,[50] even though the European Parliament warned the Egyptian government to not harass Tantawi or any other oppositional figure.[51] Supporters of Tantawi also faced difficulties in submitting endorsements.[52][53] Tantawi was unable to secure the required number of public endorsements and was thus not approved as a candidate for the election in October.[54][55]

On the evening of 2 October, small-scale anti-Sisi protests broke out in Mersa Matruh with protesters burning photos of el-Sisi and chanting anti-Sisi statements.[56]

Results

CandidatePartyVotes%
Abdel Fattah el-SisiIndependent39,702,45189.65
Hazem OmarRepublican People's Party1,986,3524.49
Farid ZahranEgyptian Social Democratic Party1,776,9524.01
Abdel-Sanad YamamaEgyptian Wafd Party822,6061.86
Total44,288,361100.00
Valid votes44,288,36198.91
Invalid/blank votes489,3071.09
Total votes44,777,668100.00
Registered voters/turnout67,032,43866.80
Source: NEA, Arab News, Paudal

Aftermath

According to official results shared by the National Elections Authority, turnout was 66.8%, eclipsing the turnout from the 2012 Egyptian presidential election that followed the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Egyptian media portrayed the election as a "great victory for the will of the people," who were reportedly motivated to vote because of the country's "state of stability and security." The opposition described the election as a "farce", marred by corrupt practices and intimidation of opponents of the el-Sisi, similar to the elections in 2018. Multiple voters interviewed at the entrance to several polling stations admitted that they had been paid between 200 and 300 Egyptian pounds (US$6.46 to $9.69) by supporters of el-Sisi to come and vote. There were also reports that security forces forcibly escorted people waiting at bus stops or train stations to polling stations for voting, and that civil servants were required to prove that they had voted by showing their finger marked with election ink.[57]

The elections were described by multiple international organizations and media outlets as not competitive.[53][58][59][60][61]

References

  1. 1 2 "Egypt to vote for president in December, Sisi expected to win". Reuters. 25 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 Rafik, Farah (25 September 2023). "Egypt's Presidential Elections will be Held in December 2023". Egyptian Streets. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  3. ↑ Magdy, Mirette (14 September 2023). "Egypt Considers Holding Presidential Vote as Soon as This Year". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  4. ↑ "Voting in Egypt's 2024 presidential elections concludes abroad". Ahram Online. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  5. ↑ Truex, Rory; Tavana, Daniel L. (July 2019). "Implicit Attitudes toward an Authoritarian Regime". The Journal of Politics. 81 (3): 1014–1027. doi:10.1086/703209. S2CID 203513334.
  6. ↑ Cambanis, Thanassis (22 May 2015). "Egypt's Sisi Is Getting Pretty Good … at Being a Dictator". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  7. ↑ "Egypt: A Move to Enhance Authoritarian Rule". Human Rights Watch. 2019.
  8. ↑ Raghavan, Sudarsan (9 July 2020). "Egypt tries to silence its critics in the United States by jailing their relatives". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  9. ↑ Al-Arian, Abdullah (27 February 2020). "Hosni Mubarak's legacy is Abdel Fattah el-Sisi". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  10. ↑ "El-Sissi wins Egypt's presidential election with 89.6% of the vote and secures third term in office". CTV News. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  11. ↑ "Egypt: Planned Presidential Vote Neither Free Nor Fair". Human Rights Watch. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  12. ↑ Michaelson, Ruth (23 January 2018). "Egypt arrests ex-general who stood for election against Sisi". The Guardian.
  13. ↑ "Egypt's military arrests ex-general running for president". ABC News. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018.
  14. ↑ Masr, Mada (24 January 2018). "Sami Anan's whereabouts unknown: Son". Mada Masr.
  15. ↑ Awadalla, Nadine (7 January 2018). "Egyptian ex-PM Ahmed Shafik says won't run for presidency". Reuters.
  16. ↑ Hearst, David (9 January 2018). "Shafiq quit Egypt election bid after threats of 'sex tape' and corruption slurs: Sources". Middle East Eye.
  17. ↑ Youssef, Nour (7 January 2018). "Egypt's Presidential Race Loses Popular Candidate". The New York Times.
  18. ↑ Michaelson, Ruth (24 January 2018). "Khaled Ali withdraws from Egyptian presidential race". The Guardian.
  19. ↑ Bower, Edmund (25 January 2018). "Egypt elections: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's challengers liken President to Saddam Hussein as they drop out of race". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022.
  20. ↑ Sanchez, Raf (15 January 2018). "Anwar Sadat's nephew backs out of Egypt presidential election". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  21. ↑ Cousin, Eduard (18 January 2023). "As economic crisis deepens, will Egypt slow megaprojects down?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  22. ↑ "Egypt Inflation Hits Record High of Nearly 40%". VOA. 10 September 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  23. ↑ "Will Egypt's asset sale get it out of its economic hole?". Al Jazeera. 25 July 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  24. ↑ "Under Sisi, firms owned by Egypt's military have flourished". Reuters. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  25. ↑ "How deep are Egypt's economic troubles?". Reuters. 3 March 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  26. ↑ "Egyptian pound has lost half of its value since March". Al Jazeera. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  27. ↑ "Elections: Egypt President 2018". www.electionguide.org. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  28. 1 2 3 El-Din, Gamal Essam (3 October 2023). "Candidates declare". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  29. ↑ "Egypt: National Elections Authority Issues New Decisions Regulating Presidential Elections". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  30. ↑ "Four presidential hopefuls present candidacy papers for Egypt 2024 elections as nomination close: NEA". Ahram Online. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  31. ↑ Hesham, Merna (9 November 2023). "Egypt's presidential election campaign kicks off". Ahram Online. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  32. 1 2 Essam El-Din, Gamal (30 August 2023). "Presidential elections: Candidates". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  33. ↑ "3 political party leaders secure required endorsements to run for Egypt's presidential election". Ahram Online. 30 September 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  34. ↑ "Head of Republican party Hazem Omar submits candidacy for Egypt's presidential elections". Ahram Online. 14 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  35. ↑ "Egypt's President el-Sissi confirms he will run for a new term in upcoming presidential elections". Associated Press. 2 October 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  36. ↑ "Sisi submits candidacy papers for presidential elections; receives over 1.1 mln endorsements". Ahram Online. 7 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  37. ↑ "Head of Wafd Party Abdel-Sanad Yamama submits candidacy for Egypt's presidential elections". Ahram Online. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  38. ↑ El-Din, Gamal Essam. "Chairman of Egyptian Social Democratic Party Farid Zahran to run for president". Ahram Online. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  39. ↑ "Farid Zahran second to submit candidacy for Egypt's presidential elections". Ahram Online. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  40. ↑ El-Din, Gamal Essam (24 June 2023). "Divisions hit Wafd party as two members vie to run in Egypt's presidential election". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  41. ↑ "'I am ready to run for president of Egypt in the 2024 elections': Constitution Party chairman Gameela Ismail". Ahram Online. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  42. ↑ "After Zahran, Ismail announce candidacies for president, Civil Democratic Movement must navigate pluralism principle". Mada Masr. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  43. ↑ "Chairwoman of Constitution party Gameela Ismail drops out of presidential election". Ahram Online. 11 October 2023.
  44. ↑ "استقالة الطنطاوي من رئاسة «الكرامة».. ومصادر: معترض على المشاركة في الحوار الوطني لعدم جدية السلطة" [Tantawi's resignation from the presidency of Al Karama... and sources: He objects to participating in the national dialogue due to the lack of seriousness of the authority]. Mada Masr (in Arabic). 17 July 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  45. ↑ AbdelHalim, Ahmed (19 April 2021). "Dissenting MPs in Egypt: A New Parliament Without Opposition?". LSE Middle East Centre Blog. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  46. 1 2 "Main opposition hopeful abandons run for Egypt presidency". Agence France-Presse. 13 October 2023.
  47. ↑ "Ahmed Al-Tantawi announces presidential candidacy, sets sights on challenging incumbent President". Third angle. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  48. ↑ Attalah, Lina (14 September 2023). "Aspiring presidential candidate Ahmed Tantawi targeted by Predator spyware". Mada Masr. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  49. ↑ "Leading Egyptian opposition presidential candidate targeted by spyware". Al Jazeera English. 24 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  50. ↑ "Egyptian presidential hopeful Ahmed Tantawy suspends campaign after 'police harassment'". The National. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  51. ↑ "مصر.. نص البيان الأوروبي حول أحمد الطنطاوي وهشام قاسم.. ونائب مصري يرد". CNN. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  52. ↑ "Egypt opposition say they face foul play over presidential candidate endorsements". Reuters. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  53. 1 2 "Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi wins another stage-managed election in Egypt". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  54. ↑ "Egyptian opposition candidate ends campaign for presidential poll". Reuters. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  55. ↑ "Egypt: Authorities step up repression ahead of presidential elections". Amnesty International. 23 November 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  56. ↑ "فيديو: احتفالية لدعم السيسي تتحول إلى مظاهرة ضده بمطروح" [Video: A celebration in support of Sisi turns into a demonstration against him in Matrouh]. Rasd News Network (in Arabic). 2 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  57. ↑ "Présidentielle en Égypte : un taux de participation « historique »". JeuneAfrique (in French). Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  58. ↑ Shawkat, Ahmed (18 December 2023). "Egypt election results: No surprises as El-Sisi wins 3rd term with Israel-Hamas war raging on border". CBS News. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  59. ↑ "Egyptians vote on second day of an election that's sure to see President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi win". AP News. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  60. ↑ "Egypt: Violations, Repression Upstage Presidential Vote". Human Rights Watch. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  61. ↑ Holleis, Jennifer; Hussein, Mahmoud (4 October 2023). "Will Egypt's presidential election bring any real change?". DW. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
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