Potential presidential candidate Ahmed Tantawi stated that he will return to interacting with people and in front of the real estate offices, confident that all he needs is “two hours to claim his right to run.”
Tantawi directed four messages in a recorded statement. The first was to Egyptians residing within, urging them to make use of the remaining 48 hours, “cling to hope and struggle for the future” by obtaining proxies from the real estate offices. He added, “My request to those who haven’t tried yet is to join these brave individuals to demand a secure future and peaceful democratic change.”
The second message was for Egyptians residing abroad, encouraging them to make the coming Thursday a “second chance for hope” and to continue their efforts to make a difference despite the restrictions reaching them overseas.
As for the third message, it was directed to all those who have been imprisoned, whether from his campaign or others imprisoned in the past 10 years. He said, “I realize the extent of sacrifices made by the prisoners, and this is an opportunity to address the injustice.”
Tantawi’s final message was to state institutions, urging them not to support the current president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. He said, “We love our country and care for it, a care that the authority and the competing candidate who insists on sheltering within institutions do not show.” He continued, “You should not defend a transient individual and confront anyone dreaming of change.”
Potential presidential candidate for the Egyptian elections, Ahmed Tantawi, announced that security forces have arrested eight members of his election campaign. The total number of detained supporters has reached 104 since last September, the number being closely monitored.
He confirmed that there are others at this moment who cannot be counted, individuals exposed to arrest, whether from his campaign or those already taken to the headquarters. It remains uncertain if they will return home or join their fellow campaigners.
The Egyptian Front for Human Rights published the names of the eight individuals arrested, including “Mahmoud Zein al-Abideen,” a 16-year-old from Giza. Tantawi stated that their arrest is on charges of “issuing forged proxies,” after he called on his supporters to issue popular proxies due to the prevention of issuing proxies at the real estate offices.
For Tantawi to complete his candidacy papers for the presidential elections, he needs to collect 25,000 proxies from 15 provinces out of the country’s 27 provinces, or obtain at least 20 “endorsements” from parliament deputies.
It’s worth mentioning that Gameela Ismail, the head of the Constitution Party and a potential presidential candidate, announced today that she is withdrawing her candidacy for the Egyptian presidential elections after the Constitution Party rejected her participation. Ismail said in a statement, “This is in line with the democracy we chose as a way to settle our decisions and in respect for the party’s regulatory rules that apply to everyone from the party president to the latest joiners.”
According to “Zawia3” sources, Gameela Ismail confirmed during the general assembly of the Constitution Party that her resorting to parliamentary endorsements was due to the difficulty of obtaining popular proxies due to the restrictions. She had only received about 37 proxies in Cairo to support her in the presidential elections.
So far, the National Electoral Commission has received the candidacy papers of three presidential candidates for the 2024 presidential elections since the start of the nomination process. They are Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the current president, Farid Zahran, the head of the Egyptian Democratic Socialist Party; and the candidate Abdel Sanad Yamama, the head of the Wafd Party, all of whom met the legal requirements for nomination, and their candidacy requests were accepted.
It’s worth noting that the National Electoral Commission has set October 16 and 17 for the announcement and publication of the preliminary list of the names of the candidates and the preparation of supporters or endorsers for each of them in the official newspaper.
The Commission has also set 3 days for Egyptians abroad to vote on December 1, 2, and 3. Egyptians within the country will vote on December 10, 11, and 12. The preliminary results of the Egyptian presidential elections are expected to be announced on December 18.
