Presidential Elections in Egypt to Be Held in April Next Year

Presidential elections in Egypt will be held from the 6th to the 8th of Farvardin next year, and it is expected that Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the current president, will enter the race for a second term. Mr. Sisi, who won the elections after the military ousted Mohamed Morsi in 2013, has not yet announced his candidacy for the elections. According to forecasts, candidates for the presidential elections in Egypt are required to submit their official applications between January 19 and February 8 of this year. On Monday, the Egyptian Election Commission announced the date of the presidential elections, stating that if the elections are held in two phases, the second round will take place from April 23 to 25. The presidential elections next year in Egypt will be the third election following the popular protests of 2011 that led to the end of Hosni Mubarak's regime. Reports indicate that if Abdel Fattah el-Sisi participates in the elections, his most serious rival will be Ahmed Shafik, the former Prime Minister of Egypt. Mr. Shafik returned to Egypt from the United Arab Emirates last month after announcing his candidacy for the presidential elections. The announcement of Ahmed Shafik's participation in the presidential elections has sparked a wave of criticism from state-affiliated media in Egypt.