Hamdeen Sabahi

A coalition of opposition parties and personalities in Egypt has called for a boycott of the March presidential elections in the country, describing it as a ‘masquerade.’

The call which is the second in the run-up to the election in which President Abdel Fateh el-Sisi is seeking a second term in office, is coming after the National Elections Authority (NEA) confirmed that it had validated two nominations for the elections with Sisi’s only challenger being Moussa Mostapha Moussa of the liberal party, Al- Ghad.

At a press conference in Cairo on Tuesday, Hamdeen Sabahi, a former presidential candidate in 2012 and 2014, said the coalition of eight opposition parties and 150 prominent Egyptian personalities were boycotting the polls because there was ‘no guarantee of a free vote.’

Sabbahi went further to accuse the current regime of leading the North African country into a deadlock because of its arrogance and willingness to repress any contrary opinion.

The coalition which was founded in December, 2017 announced that it was launching a campaign with the slogan ‘Stay at Home’ to encourage Egyptians to boycott the elections which has been scheduled to take place from March 26 – 28, 2018.

In recent weeks, several presidential aspirants including human rights lawyer, Khaled Ali and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik have withdrawn their presidential bids citing intimidation from the state.

Two officers from the army including former Chief of Staff, Sami Anan were detained by the country’s military after declaring their intentions to challenge President Sisi at the elections.