Pro-Sisi surprise candidate to stand in Egypt election

Egyptian politician Mousa Mostafa Mousa, who heads Egypt's Al Ghad party that backs President Abdel Fattah el Sisi said on Monday he would compete in presidential elections, hours before a nomination deadline was set to make incumbent President Sisi the sole candidate after withdrawals and a boycott call.

Several leading opposition figures called on Sunday for a boycott of the March election, citing a wave of repression that has cleared the field of challengers to Sisi and left his top opponent in jail.

"I am finishing up with some remaining matters and will then go to the National Election Authority to present my candidacy," Mousa said.

Mousa said he was at the electoral commission registering his candidacy after having collected the required number of nomination pledges.

Would-be candidates are required to register by 1200 GMT (2 pm) on Monday after clinching at least 20 nominations from parliament or 25,000 pledges from citizens across the country. 

Former military commander Sisi was elected in 2014, a year after leading the army to oust President Mohamed Morsi. He is expected to easily win the vote, the third since protests in 2011 unseated long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak.

TRT World speaks to Nuria Teson in Cairo.

Call for boycott

Five opposition figures, including a 2012 presidential candidate and two top campaign aides for now-arrested presidential hopeful Sami Annan, called on Sunday for a boycott of the March vote, saying it has lost all credibility.

In a statement, they also called on Egyptians not to recognise the presidential vote's outcome if it goes ahead.

"We call on our glorious people to entirely boycott these elections and not to recognise whatever outcome they produce," said the statement. "This is not only in response to the absence of an electoral contest, but rather out of concern that this policy clearly paves the way for amending the constitution to remove the limit on presidential terms," it said, alluding to the constitutional ban on presidents serving more than two terms. The statement also called on "active opposition forces" to form a coalition to study the "next choices and steps."

Sisi can win a second, four-year term if he secures the support of five percent of registered voters, about 60 million people.

All potentially serious challengers to him have been arrested, forced out or quit the race.

Sunday's statement by the five opposition figures is a bold move that could be perceived as an attempt to derail the electoral process by authorities that have shown little tolerance for dissent under Sisi. It is also likely to encourage more expressions of discontent over what critics see as the president's increasingly authoritarian traits.

Statement signatories

The signatories of Sunday's statement include 2012 presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, former lawmaker Mohammed Anwar Sadat, who quit the race saying he feared for the safety of his supporters, and Annan's top campaign aides Hazem Hosny and Hisham Genena. The military arrested Annan last week, accusing him of incitement against the military and forgery.

Issam Heggy, a scientist and former presidential adviser, also signed the statement.

Earlier on Sunday, eight local rights groups expressed their "extreme denunciation" of an attack on Genena, saying it was part of a pattern of retaliations against would-be presidential candidates and their supporters.

Lawyers for Genena said he suffered serious injuries to the face and leg during an apparent kidnapping attempt outside his suburban Cairo home on Saturday. They said three men armed with knives tried to force him into one of their two cars when passers-by rushed to his rescue.

Police say the incident began when Genena hit a pedestrian while driving his car. A brawl then ensued between Genena and the victim's friends, who alleged in a complaint that the 63-year-old former judge, his wife and daughter assaulted them.

The statement by the eight groups, which include the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms and the anti-torture and rehabilitation Nadim Center, said "revenge acts" have targeted anyone daring to challenge Sisi in the upcoming elections.

In 2015, Genena claimed that corruption was costing the country billions of dollars. A pro-government daily quoted him as saying that Egypt lost $67.6 billion (600 billion pounds) in corruption in 2015 alone. 

He later said he was misquoted and that his remarks referred to the last four-year period. Sisi dismissed him in 2016, following an investigation that hurriedly concluded that he had misled the public.