Gameela Ismail, the head of the Constitution Party and a potential candidate for the presidency of the republic, announced her withdrawal from the Egyptian presidential elections after her party refused to endorse her candidacy. Ismail stated in a released statement that this decision was made “to uphold the democracy we have chosen as a way to finalize our decisions and to respect the organizational rules of the party that apply to everyone, from the party president to its newest members.”
Ismail added, “Although I could have continued my candidacy independently, my initial choice was for participation aimed at advancing the party’s political performance and strengthening the effectiveness of its members in involving marginalized and underrepresented segments of the population in public affairs.”
The statement by Ismail highlighted, “All governorates have witnessed violations since the announcement of the election schedule, not only against my supporters but also those interested in public affairs. This clearly exposes the lack of acceptance of the political will to hold free and fair elections.”
The statement continued, “I am well aware of the frustration that this decision may cause to many men and women within and outside the party, those whom I had the honor to secure public mandates for and those who attempted but failed due to obstacles and hindrances.”
In its general assembly yesterday, the Constitution Party rejected the participation of Gameela Ismail, the party’s president, in the upcoming presidential elections in 2023-2024. The rejection came with a vote of 305 against participation, compared to 133 in favor, out of a total of 757 active and updated members, contradicting her personal stance of aspiring to run for the presidency as the first Egyptian woman to enter the presidential race.
“Zawia3” learned from its sources that Gameela Ismail affirmed during the Constitution Party’s general assembly that her resort to parliamentary endorsements was due to the difficulty of obtaining popular mandates due to constraints. She only managed to secure about 37 mandates in Cairo to support her in the presidential elections.
So far, the National Electoral Commission has received the applications of three presidential candidates for the 2024 presidential elections since the opening of the candidacy, namely Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the current president, Farid Zahran, the president of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, and the candidate Abdel Sattar Yamama, the president of the Wafd Party, who met the legal requirements for candidacy, and their applications were accepted.
It’s worth mentioning that the National Electoral Commission has set October 16 and 17 for announcing and publishing the preliminary list of candidates’ names and preparing the supporters or endorsers for each of them in the official gazette.
The Commission has allocated 3 days for Egyptian expatriates to vote on December 1, 2, and 3. It also designated December 10, 11, and 12 for Egyptians inside the country to cast their votes.
The preliminary results of the Egyptian presidential elections are expected to be announced on December 18.
