CAIRO: Egypt will hold a presidential election on March 26-28, with the incumbent Abdel Fattah El-Sisi widely expected to seek a second term in office.
Sissi, who won a landslide victory after he led the military overthrow of elected President Mohamed Mursi in 2013, has yet to announce his candidacy.
Candidates must submit their official bids to the commission between Jan 20-29. Announcing the date, the national election commission said a run-off would be held on April 24-26 if needed.
It will be Egypt’s third election since the 2011 uprising which ended Hosni Mubarak’s long rule.
Sissi’s most serious potential challenger, former prime minister Ahmed Shafik, recalled his candidacy on Sunday saying his time back in Egypt has led him to reconsider the decision.
Shafik returned to Egypt from the United Arab Emirates in December after announcing his intention to run, setting off a firestorm of criticism from state-aligned media.
“Exercise your right to run for office and vote, do your duty of choosing the president of your country, your voice will certainly make a difference,” Lasheen Ibrahim, the judge heading the comission, said at a news conference in Cairo.
First round results will be announced on April 2 and, in the event of a run-off, on May 1.
Egypt announces date for presidential election
Egypt announces date for presidential election
The art of war: fears for masterpieces on loan to Louvre Abu Dhabi
- UAE paid more than €1 billion to borrow priceless works, but experts in France want them back
PARIS: The Middle East war has raised fears for the safety of priceless masterpieces on loan from France to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the museum’s only foreign branch.
The Abu Dhabi museum, which opened in 2017, has so far escaped damage from nearly 1,800 Iranian drone and missile strikes launched since the conflict erupted on Feb. 28.
However, concerns are mounting in France. “The works must be removed,” said Didier Selles, who helped broker the original agreement between France and the UAE.
French journal La Tribune de l’Art echoed that alarm. “The Louvre’s works in Abu Dhabi must be secured!” it said.
France’s culture ministry said French authorities were “in close and regular contact with the authorities of the UAE to ensure the protection of the works loaned by France.”
Under the agreement with the UAE, France agreed to provide expertise, lend works of art and organize exhibitions, in return for €1 billion, including €400 million for licensing the use of the Louvre name. The deal was extended in 2021 to 2047 for an additional €165 million.
Works on loan include paintings by Rembrandt and Chardin, Classical statues of Isis, Roman sarcophagi and Islamic masterpieces: such as the Pyxis of Al-Mughira.
A Louvre Abu Dhabi source said the museum was designed to protect collections from both security threats and natural disasters.
