Egyptian Presidential Elections: Potential Candidates and Requirements – CNN

Cairo, Egypt (CNN) — The names of potential candidates for the Egyptian presidential elections have begun to be announced, to be called at the end of this year, with the results to be announced before April 2 of next year, according to the constitution.

The list of candidates included the heads of the “Al-Wafd” and “Conservative” parties, Abdul Sanad Yamama, and Akmal Kartam. Previously, former member of Parliament Ahmed Al-Tantawi announced his intention to run.

And the constitutional amendments in 2019 approved in Articles 140 and 142 that the term of the President of the Republic be 6 years, and he may not assume the presidency for more than two consecutive presidential terms, and stipulated that in order to accept the candidacy for the presidency of the Republic, the candidate should be endorsed by at least 20 members of the House of Representatives, or that he be supported by what At least 25,000 citizens who have the right to vote in at least 15 governorates, with a minimum of 1,000 supporters from each governorate.

Counselor Mahmoud Fawzi, head of the Technical Secretariat of the National Dialogue, revealed, in televised statements, the opening date for candidacy for the upcoming presidential elections, on December 3 of this year, explaining the reason for that because the constitutional amendments in 2019 recognized the end of the term of the President of the Republic in On the day the result was announced, which corresponds to April 24, 2024, and the constitution set the date for the start of the elections 120 days before this date, and the result must be announced 30 days before this date.

Ahmed Hantish, the official spokesman for the “Conservative” party, said that the party’s executive council – which is the highest authority in its structure – received wishes from its members in various governorates to nominate Qartam for the elections, and accordingly a memorandum of these requests was prepared to be submitted to the Presidential Council and the various bodies of the party to take a decision regarding Qartam’s candidacy. With approval or not, provided that the final decision of the party leader is to accept or reject this proposal.

The “conservative” party was founded in 2006, with a reference leaning to the right of the center, and it suspended its activity in 2010 in protest of what it described as “political and security laws” that were issued during the era of the late President Hosni Mubarak, before it resumed its activity again the following year, and it is done. Merging it with the “Ennahda” party – under formation at the time – and Akmal Kartam is the head of the “Conservative” party.

Hantish added, in exclusive statements to CNN in Arabic, that there is a “committee formed within the party to prepare an electoral program, and the steps that it is supposed to demand during the coming period to confirm the electoral guarantees that the party previously demanded on its own or through its membership in the civil movement.”

According to the media, in addition to Akmal Kartam’s work in politics by leading the “Conservative” party, and membership in the House of Representatives in 2015 before his resignation with the start of the second session, he works in investing in the oil sector.

Hantish referred to the demands made by the “conservative” party to ensure the seriousness of the upcoming presidential elections, including “amending one of the articles of the National Elections Authority law to allow the participation of a number of members of political parties within the board of directors of the authority to supervise the elections, receive complaints from citizens, and install surveillance cameras.” Inside the sub-committees to follow up on the electoral process and counting within all the committees to ensure transparency and accuracy of the results.

He continued, “In addition to guarantees for fair competition, such as stopping the preventive detention of politicians, by amending the Criminal Procedure Law to not put pressure on party members during the collection of candidates’ nominations, organizing electoral campaigns and other measures that guarantee the integrity of the electoral process in all its stages.”

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, in response to the proposal of the National Dialogue Board of Trustees, has previously directed a study of a legislative amendment to the National Elections Authority Law to allow full judicial supervision of the upcoming presidential elections in 2024.

Ahmed Hantish said that his party “refuses to participate in any drama for the upcoming presidential elections, and adheres to the need for a fair and strong competition between the candidates in the interest of the citizen,” adding that the party “has previously refused to participate in electoral lists in the parliament loyal to it, despite promises that it will obtain a large number of parliamentary seats.” However, he stuck to his position on the need to provide full competition between all parties.

The official spokesman for the “Conservative” party confirmed the party’s ability to “fulfill the conditions for candidacy for the presidential elections, by collecting 25,000 signatures from citizens who have the right to vote in 15 governorates, through its 91,000 members in various governorates, in addition to fans and supporters.” party and candidate.

For his part, Yasser Al-Hudhaibi, the official spokesman for the “Al-Wafd” party and head of the party’s parliamentary body in the Senate, said that the party “has not yet taken a final decision to nominate Abdul Sanad Yamama for the presidential elections, and the party is still in the stage of discussions on this matter, provided that the final decision is taken.” Next week, after obtaining the approval of the party’s supreme body, in accordance with the text of Article 19 of the delegation’s bylaw.

In televised statements, Abdel Sanad Yamama, head of the “Al-Wafd” party, confirmed that he had obtained the approval of 53 members of the party’s supreme body, out of a total of 60 members, to run in the upcoming presidential elections.

Al-Hudhaibi confirmed, in exclusive statements to CNN in Arabic, that “if the Wafd Party agrees to nominate a representative for the presidential elections, it will work seriously to compete to win the elections, in light of the party’s work in an institutional system, and a long history in political life that extends for more than 114 years.” Years, and there are party committees in all governorates that include large numbers of members, and therefore the decision to announce our candidate for the presidency is delayed until consultations with all members in the various governorates.

Yamama assumed the presidency of the Wafd Party last March, after winning by a narrow margin over his rival, Chancellor Bahaa Abu Shaqqa.

Abdel Sanad Yamama has been a professor at the Faculty of Law at Menoufia University, and has been a member of the “Wafd” party since 2004, and a member of the party’s supreme body for 3 consecutive terms.

Yasser Al-Hudaybi also affirmed “the ability of the Wafd Party candidate to fulfill the conditions for running for the presidency, in light of the party’s presence in Parliament exceeding the number required constitutionally.”

Last May, former parliamentarian Ahmed Al-Tantawi announced his return to Egypt and his intention to run for the upcoming presidential elections, and during the last period he held a meeting with members of the opposition civil movement, and a controversy arose around him after the Tagammu Party announced its rejection of Tantawi’s intention to return the “Brotherhood” to the political scene.