Sisi presidency draws disparate responses in Egypt

CAIRO

Supporters of former army chief Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi voiced optimism after he was officially named president-elect, while opponents vowed not to recognize him as Egypt's legitimate president.

"Egypt will begin to see stability under the rule of an elected president," Shehab Wagih, spokesman for the secular Free Egyptians Party, told Anadolu Agency.

Egypt's electoral commission on Tuesday declared al-Sisi, who directed last summer's ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi by the army, winner of last week's presidential elections.

The commission said al-Sisi had received some 23.7 million votes, while his sole electoral rival, leftist candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, had failed to surpass the million-vote mark.

The presidential polls, the second since Egypt's 2011 uprising, constitute the second phase of an army-imposed transitional roadmap, unveiled by al-Sisi following Morsi's forced removal from office and imprisonment.

Parliamentary elections, the third and final phase of the roadmap, are expected sometime later this year.

"Now it's time to work towards the third phase of the roadmap," Wagih said.

The Free Egyptians Party, founded by Coptic billionaire Naguib Sawiris, was among the many political and religious groups that had supported the post-Morsi roadmap.

Following the announcement of al-Sisi's victory, Egyptian Grand Mufti Shawki Allam and Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II both congratulated the new president-elect and hailed the electoral process.

In a congratulatory message to al-Sisi, Tawadros said the latter's election "reflects pure popular will," while Allam expressed his hope that al-Sisi would "respond to the Egyptian people's expectations regarding security, stability and social justice."

The Salafist Nour Party likewise congratulated al-Sisi, asserting that the elections were "free and fair," according to a statement issued by the Nour Party Secretary-General Galal Mara.

The polls were widely boycotted, however, by Morsi supporters and youth groups opposed to the election of yet another military man as Egypt's ruler.

The National Alliance for the Defense of Legitimacy, Morsi's main support bloc, reiterated its refusal to acknowledge Egypt's army-backed authorities.

"These elections have no constitutional basis, since [Morsi, who remains in detention] never resigned or stepped down," alliance spokesman Magdi Qurqur told AA.

He said the alliance planned to call for fresh demonstrations against al-Sisi's presidency on Friday.

The April 6 youth movement, which played a key role in the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, also stressed its opposition to a sustained police crackdown – launched in the wake of Morsi's ouster – that has left hundreds dead and thousands behind bars.

"We will continue protesting, because this generation dreams of a developed, prosperous Egypt," the group said in a statement following the official announcement of al-Sisi's electoral win.

"But the regime and its allies are using all means possible to drag us back to the past," the group added.

Al-Sisi is scheduled to be sworn in early next week before Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court.

Adly Mansour, Egypt's army-installed interim president, has invited ruling monarchs and heads of state from around the world to participate in the inauguration ceremony, according to presidential sources.

www.aa.com.tr/en