The only indication to Egyptians of an upcoming election are the numerous posters featuring President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi’s image that can be seen on every wall and billboard throughout the nation.
Sisi’s constant presence in the media, with his distant gaze and forced smile, has led to a proliferation of memes online as a form of free expression. One popular meme features Jack and Rose from Titanic sitting on the ship’s deck surrounded by Sisi’s campaign posters. Another pokes fun at the idea that a pregnant woman saw so many pictures of Sisi on her way to work that her baby ended up looking like him.
Following a successful takeover through a military coup in 2013, Sisi has been victorious in two presidential elections, receiving 97% of the votes. In the most recent election, his opponent openly endorsed his leadership. As has become customary, the only viable candidate who posed as a true opposition was once again barred from participating in the election.
Mohamed Lotfy, from the human rights organization Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), expressed that the current focus is more on the situation in Gaza rather than the ongoing elections, making it feel like they are not taking place.
“The upcoming elections are not expected to bring any changes, except for a third term for Sisi. This has been largely accepted by the public. The other candidates are not running with the intention of winning, but rather in hopes of gaining political favors in the future.”
Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat, the nephew of Egypt’s former president and a prominent figure in politics for many years, chuckled and stated that the election had already concluded a while ago. His extensive career has included being ejected from parliament, a brief attempt at running for office in 2018, and serving as a mediator in securing the release of numerous inmates from Egypt’s overcrowded prisons.
The main factor now is the percentage of people who vote, which will determine Sisi’s success in the election. Without a high turnout, the election is essentially over in my view. Although there are three additional candidates, they are merely there for appearance and not true contenders.
Sisi has consistently maintained that allowing opposition to govern would lead to the country’s downfall. He also made promises that numerous grand projects, such as the expansion of the Suez canal and the construction of a new capital outside of Cairo, would bring prosperity. However, the actual results have been grim, with the state’s own estimates showing that about a third of the population lives in poverty. Additionally, this year’s inflation rate has nearly reached 40%, with food prices rising even higher.
Sisi stated in a speech during October that one should not prioritize eating over building and advancing. She added that if it means sacrificing food and drink for the sake of the nation’s progress and prosperity, then one should be willing to do so.
Sisi’s rule has combined biting austerity measures for the public with lavish spending within a regime where only the president and a few of his closest confidants wield power, particularly his notorious spy chief Abbas Kamel, who has spearheaded hostage negotiations with Palestinian militants in the Gaza strip, and his son Mahmoud el-Sisi, who is also a high-ranking security official.
In the years since coming into power, Sisi has worked to eliminate any potential opposition or threat in society, imprisoning those who disagree with his policies and controlling a massive police state. This has been his focus for the past decade.
Egyptian political economy specialist Timothy E Kaldas from the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy expressed confusion over why anyone, including President Sisi, would believe that Egypt would benefit from six more years under his rule, given the current state of the country after 10 years.
“The number of Egyptians living in poverty has increased since he assumed office, and the country’s external debt has almost quadrupled. The interest payments on this debt now account for almost all of the country’s tax revenue. If this is the impact he has had in 10 years, one can only imagine the potential damage he could cause in the next six years.”
According to Kaldas, it is anticipated that the state will engage in a widespread effort to buy votes, similar to previous years where working-class Egyptians were given bags of food to increase voter participation.
According to him, one factor contributing to the low cost of buying votes is the widespread desperation among the population. People are willing to trade their vote for just a few dollars worth of food, or may be coerced by employers with connections to the ruling regime. This accounts for the majority of the voter turnout.
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Given the limited likelihood of a democratic election, the majority of Egyptians are primarily focused on the ongoing Israeli attack on Gaza. This attack is occurring just beyond the closed border of the Sinai region, where there are currently unprecedented amicable relations with Israel. These relations include public meetings between Sisi and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Despite this, Sisi found a way to bypass a long-standing restriction on public demonstrations by setting a specific date and location for protests regarding Gaza in an attempt to control public frustration. However, this strategy proved unsuccessful as large groups of protesters gathered in Tahrir square in Cairo, the same location where the 2011 revolution took place, to call for the removal of authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak.
The ECRF monitored arrests made during the demonstrations and discovered that 115 individuals were detained in Cairo and Alexandria. Currently, 67 of them are still facing trial for various offenses such as violating a protest ban law and involvement in terrorism.
Lotfy from ECRF stated that the security agencies declined approval for a group of activists trying to cross the Rafah border, in part to prevent a recurrence of this situation.
Despite Egypt’s role in hostage negotiations providing some international clout, Sisi’s inability to wield power on Gaza risks exposing the fragility of his rule at home.
Lotfy stated that the government faces a dilemma because de-escalating the situation would relieve tension within the country, but it may also lead to frustration as it shows the state’s limitations in addressing the issue.
As the number of images depicting bombings increases, the public becomes increasingly angry, particularly towards the government for their perceived lack of power in forcing Israel to open its borders and allow more aid. The government must demonstrate its ability to play a role in enforcing a ceasefire and preventing Palestinians from being displaced into Sinai. If they are unsuccessful, the question arises: how are they both failing and preventing us from expressing our anger through protests?
Source: theguardian.com
