Egypt’s El-Sisi ‘Making Army Arrangements’ Prior to Presidential Bid: Moussa

Leading political figure Amr Moussa has said that military chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi will announce his presidential bid in a matter of days.

Moussa told London-based Al-Hayat newspaper in statements published on Friday that although El-Sisi has not yet announced his candidacy, he has started forming his presidential team with experts from various walks of life, and has begun preparing his presidential programme.

Speculation about a possible presidential run by El-Sisi, who is head of the armed forces, has been growing in recent months. An announcement in January by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces signaling approval of a run by El-Sisi was widely seen as tacit confirmation that the military leader would announce his candidacy imminently.

Moussa attributed El-Sisi’s delay in announcing his presidential bid to “making arrangements within the army.”

Interim President Adly Mansour issued a presidential decree on Thursday that mandated the military council be headed by the defence minister and not the president, for the first time in Egypt’s history.

In order to run for president, El-Sisi would need to resign from his position as head of the armed forces, and the associated role of minister of defence, as police and military personnel are forbidden from running for office.

Moussa also said that El-Sisi is currently assembling his presidential campaign staff, who will organise meetings at street-level for him.

Moussa, a former presidential candidate who has supported the transitional authorities since the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi in July, was head of the committee responsible for amending the new constitution.

Source: Ahram